NBA: 5 pros and cons from the Jimmy Butler trade
By Kyle Crabbe
Con 2 – By making this deal with Philadelphia, Minnesota takes a heavy loss in the original Jimmy Butler trade from Chicago
What this trade also shows is that the Minnesota Timberwolves front office misread the market in originally obtaining Jimmy Butler. The trade that landed Butler in Minnesota in the summer of 2017 turns out to shows that the Wolves front office became too impatient and swung for the fences in dealing for Butler.
The details of the trade being the Wolves traded young star Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the rights to 2017 NBA Draft 7th overall pick (which became Lauri Markkanen). The first problem with the deal was the Wolves were trading three lottery picks of three players under 21. That translates as three lottery picks to three young players that all have at least the possibility of becoming All-Stars by age 25.
As LaVine continues to flourish with Chicago, the chances of him becoming a All-Star become very high at some point in this career. By obtaining Robert Covington and Dario Saric for Jimmy Butler; the wolves take a significant lost on return from this original deal for Butler.