Jimmy Butler to Sacramento: The spite trade that would actually help both franchises

NBA Trade Rumors: Sending Jimmy Butler to Sacramento would be amazingly petty, but would actually help the Timberwolves build for the future

“It’s a player’s league.”

Everybody knows that, and so when great players demand a trade, their teams are essentially screwed. Just like when teams foolishly trade unprotected picks away and then lose so much talent their dispossessed picks become treasure chests, they are screwed.

Minnesota, meet Sacramento. Sacramento, meet Minnesota. The two of you should talk.

I can’t honestly remember the last time an NBA team traded a player just to spite him. I’m not talking OKC shipping Reggie Jackson‘s miserable self to Detroit – that allowed Jackson to sign a near max-deal. Or any number of teams trading Dwight Howard for even worse centers on longer deals.

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The last trade that could even qualify as spiteful was Kawhi Leonard to Toronto. Since it was well-known Leonard wanted to play in L.A., sending him to the team geographically furthest from his hometown was indeed partially a spiteful trade (respect!). But great players like Kawhi care about winning, so sending him to a team with a clear path to the Eastern Conference Finals wasn’t as spiteful as sending him to a lottery team.

Jimmy Butler to the Sacramento Kings would be a spite trade, and it would be glorious. But it would also help both franchises involved.

First, the spite: Sacramento is a small market with a losing culture. Butler would be playing with some young talent, yes, but would have no chance of even sniffing the playoffs. However, assuming he did begrudgingly play, he would elevate the Kings from a bottom-3 team to a team that might actually be closer to the 10th worst in the league.

Since Sacramento owes its pick to Philly or Boston, it has no incentive to tank, and may as well play to win and spite the owner of the pick, just as the Nets and Lakers overachieved to give the Cavaliers and 76ers their 8th and 10th respective picks last year. Butler would never re-sign with the Kings, but having him play a contract season on that team would increase their wins, cheapening their draft pick to spite Danny Ainge (which would at least earn Vlade Divac the respect of the many other GMs who have been swindled by Ainge).

As a somewhat to very petty person, I understand the appeal of doing something just to spite someone. But it can’t be the only reason for doing it. Adding a great player – even a reluctant one – in a contract year would help any team win games. Maybe Butler could inspire the Kings’ young talent, without alienating them like he did to Minnesota’s young studs.

With any trade partner, Minnesota’s goal is to get back useful veterans, young assets and unload salary – specifically Gorgui Dieng. Even assuming De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III are untouchable, the Kings have plenty of young assets, and salary cap space. Here are two potential trades that would work:

Trade 1: Jimmy Butler for Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kosta Koufos.

Neither Hield nor Bogdo is a franchise caliber player, but both are average starters or above average bench players who bring three point shooting – something the Timberwolves have sorely lacked. Hield averaged 13.5 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting from 3 last year, while Bogbo averaged 11.8 and 39.2 percent, respectively.

Both are on rookie deals, with Hield making $8M through 2020 and Bogbo $18. Koufos is obviously just salary filler.

Trade 2: Jimmy Butler and Gorgui Dieng for Buddy Hield, Kosta Koufos, Zach Randolph and Iman Shumpert.

Including Dieng in any deal will hurt the Timberwolves’ return, that’s just a fact. To be clear, Dieng is not a bad player, and maybe in fact be one of the better backup bigs in the league, but the remaining three years and $49M left on his deal stink!

So instead of two young, sweet-shooting wings, the Wolves would get one, and the younger and cheaper one at that. The three other incoming players are on expiring contracts that – quite frankly – could be the last of their careers if they don’t scrap and claw for everything this season. Still, getting Hield while dumping Dieng is better for the Wolves than packages the Heat and Nets have reportedly discussed.

Watching Jimmy Butler be miserable in Sacramento and Danny Ainge get one fewer top-3 pick is something a silent majority of NBA fans want. Spite trades are too few and far in between, but Minnesota and Sacramento have a chance to make Christmas come early for us petty NBA fans.