NBA Trade Rumors: Timberwolves Could Swap Jimmy Butler For Bradley Beal, ‘Dunking With Wolves’ Suggests
Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Jimmy Butler is one of the NBA superstars who are expected to be moved before the February NBA trade deadline. Before the 2018-19 NBA season started, Butler reached an agreement with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. While the Timberwolves are finding him a new home, Butler vowed to be a good teammate and play as hard as he already does.
Though Jimmy Butler is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Timberwolves are still expecting a good return. Timberwolves Head Coach Tom Thibodeau wants to acquire another quality player who can help them remain competitive in the deep Western Conference this season. According to Trey Flynn of Fansided‘s Dunking With Wolves, the Washington Wizards will be an interesting trade partner for the Timberwolves involving their disgruntled superstar.
Flynn suggested that the Wizards and the Timberwolves could engage in a superstar-for-superstar trade. In the proposed trade deal, the Wizards will be sending Bradley Beal to the Timberwolves for Jimmy Butler. The deal works on ESPN‘s NBA Trade Machine. Trading Beal is undeniably a tough decision for the Wizards, but they should consider making a huge roster shakeup in order to end their struggle this season.
“Jimmy Butler’s ability to shoot the ball and facilitate at the wing can lighten up John Wall’s stress as the full-time point guard position. With Austin Rivers not impressing anyone off the bench, as Rivers is more of a shoot-first guard. Butler is also a much better defender than Beal and has proved that he can be more than a spot up shooter in this league. In fact, the 4-time All-Defensive wing could potentially push the Wizards guard John Wall and create one of the best backcourt defenses in the league.”
Jimmy Butler needs to get to Houston…
Trade ideas to get the best players out of the league's worst situations ? https://t.co/UZX67mR2wH pic.twitter.com/6Z7UNElWBD
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) November 9, 2018
The Wizards will be taking a huge gamble by trading Jimmy Butler for Bradley Beal since they could end up losing one of their superstars for a one-year rental. However, there is no doubt that Butler will improve the Wizards’ performance on both ends of the floor. Butler could be the solution to end the Wizards’ struggle and the player who could bring them back to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, Flynn believes Bradley Beal is a “perfect fit” in Minnesota. Beal will give the Timberwolves a consistent scorer in the perimeter which will make it easier for Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to penetrate the basket. Trading the major distraction on their team for another superstar could help the Timberwolves become a significant team in the Western Conference once again.
