Jimmy Butler Trade Rumors: SG Prefers Deal to Knicks, Clippers, Nets

Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler has the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks on his list of preferred destinations as he attempts to engineer an exit from Minneapolis, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

The Athletic's Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported Wednesday that Butler requested a trade and has "a list of one to three teams with whom he's open to signing [an] extension."

According to Krawczynski, a disagreement between Butler and the Timberwolves over "contractual matters" played the biggest role in the trade request.

Wojnarowski noted the Nets, Clippers and Knicks will all have enough salary-cap space to sign Butler to a max contract next summer. Since none of those three teams is close to contending for a title, their financial flexibility could've been a strong factor when he made his wish list.

While the Lakers may seem like a surprising omission from Butler's list, Wojnarowski noted LeBron James' arrival made L.A. less appealing. 

ProBasketballTalk's Dan Feldman noted in July that Butler could sign a five-year, $190 million deal with the Timberwolves next summer, and other teams will be eligible to offer him $141 million over four years.

The problem for Butler, though, is a rebuilding team doesn't have a strong incentive to acquire him now.

The Nets, Clippers and Knicks aren't one piece away from having a championship-caliber squad. Los Angeles would probably even struggle to make the playoffs in the Western Conference.

Considering their lack of leverage, the Timberwolves seemingly aren't in a position to recoup anything close to equal value for Butler. The Chicago Bulls got Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen in return for Butler, and he was still two years away from free agency. Fast-forward to the present, and Butler is potentially a one-year rental.

Because of that, the price to get him out of Minnesota may not be too high. Still, it makes more sense to wait until he hits free agency—likely after this year when he opts out of his contract—rather than surrender a valuable asset or two, especially if his presence won't improve a team much in the short term.