NBA Rumors: Jimmy Butler reportedly willing to sit out games in an attempt to speed up the process in him being traded
Its been roughly six weeks since Jimmy Butler formally requested to be traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, over the last few weeks, there hasn’t really been much movement on that front – from the Wolves or teams interested in the perennial all-star.
Perhaps because Tom Thibodeau was never really interested in moving Butler – or it could be because his asking price is simply too high. Maybe a little of both, to be quite honest.
Nevertheless, it appears that Butler is taking his trade demand to the next level. He is reportedly sitting out tonight’s game against the the Utah Jazz and could sit out more games if it’s necessary.
Jimmy Butler is taking next step in six-week-long process aimed at getting the All-Star out of Minnesota by sitting tonight against Utah, and could lead to extended absence for Butler, league sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 31, 2018
Butler started contemplating not playing tonight on Tuesday, and the final decision was made Wednesday morning, sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Timberwolves termed it "general soreness and precautionary rest,” but Butler informed Tom Thibodeau of his decision.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 31, 2018
This is certainly a bold move that we really haven’t seen in the recent history for a start player, and it’s something that is always available but rarely used. This move by Butler potentially tells us a few things about what’s happening behind the scenes.
Either, he feels a trade could be close and doesn’t want to hurt that by suffering an injury or something. Or, he doesn’t feel like the Wolves are taking his trade request seriously and he wants to apply even more pressure by actually sitting out games and making it seem like this is more of a real thing.
The big question, of course, is whether this will actually work. This has been one of the more drawn out trade sagas in recent history, really only rivaling what we saw with Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony a few years ago.
But this entire situation has been painful and quite annoying – whether you have a dog in the race or not.
It might ultimately come to whether a team like the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat or a struggling team like the Washington Wizards succumb to the pressure of slow starts and make a knee-jerk offer.
This is a bold move by both Butler and the Wolves. Only time will tell how it works out for both parties.