NBA Rumors: Latest on Jimmy Butler Trade Suitors, Joakim Noah, More
Before the Minnesota Timberwolves have their first team practice of the upcoming season on Tuesday, they hope to have a trade completed for their disgruntled star Jimmy Butler, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski's sources, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor made it clear that president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau and his general manager Scott Layden were to move quickly towards a resolution that would end Butler's playing days in a Minnesota uniform.
This new directive runs afoul of Thibodeau's initial plan to basically overlook the four-time NBA All Star's trade demands and try to work through the discord among his players. Butler reportedly butted heads with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, who recently agreed to a five-year, $190 million extension to remain with the Wolves.
The drama between Butler and Wiggins played out on social media, but Towns expressed his displeasure through his agent, Leon Rose. Before the big man came to terms with Minnesota, he let Minnesota's front office know that he "can't coexist with Jimmy" and he had a problem with "Jimmy and Thibs ganging up on him," as 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson told the Mackey and Judd podcast (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports).
Despite the rift between Towns and Butler, who both made the All-Star team together last year, jettisoning the latter is a huge loss for a team that found success in their first season as teammates and helped the Wolves make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Butler requested to be dealt last week, and once Minnesota locked in Towns, Taylor agreed that it was best if they sent Butler packing sooner than later.
Butler is an unrestricted free agent after the season, so he has some control over where he lands because he can let teams know ahead of time if he plans on signing with them in the summer or making a beeline to one of the teams he's expressed interest in playing for, which include the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Knicks and, his first choice, the Los Angeles Clippers.
No viable deal has come to light, but the team most aggressively pursuing Butler in trade talks is the Miami Heat, per Wojnarowski.
Anthony Chang and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that Heat president Pat Riley has long admired Butler as a player because of his "competitive nature" and defensive skills that have resulted in four selections for the All-NBA defense second team.
Miami may have their eyes on Butler, but they may not have the pieces required to land him. Riley has made it clear that no one is off limits when it comes to certain big-name players, but the only players that the Wolves might be interested in are Hassan Whiteside, Justice Winslow, Tyler Johnson, Dion Waiters, Bam Adebayo and Josh Richardson, who the Heat would prefer to keep in Miami.
Another team in hot pursuit is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Team owner Dan Gilbert spoke privately with Taylor at the recent NBA Board of Governors meeting, according to Wojnarowski.
A deal that would send Butler to Cleveland could prove problematic, though, because good friend Kyrie Irving warned him about going there, as Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reported.
The Cavs may still push forward for a deal because with LeBron James taking his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers, they have a huge vacancy for a bankable star player.
While the Timberwolves continue to make and take calls, they've granted Butler permission to skip out on media day on Monday, per The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski.
For the 2017-18 season, Butler averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and two steals per game.
Joakim Noah on the move
It looks like the New York Knicks and Joakim Noah are headed for Splitsville.
The Knicks have moved closer to a buyout agreement with Noah that would allow them to waive and stretch his contract, league sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Noah is due $37.8 million over the next two seasons, and with the waive and stretch, he would agree to give back some of that money, which would benefit the Knicks as they look to reduce the hit to their salary cap.
"The situation with Joakim is pretty much the same," Knicks general manager Scott Perry told Newsday's Steve Popper last week. "Nothing has changed other than we're in constant communication with his representation. Training camp is a few days off. The hope is we can come to a resolution that is both advantageous to Joakim and the Knicks. That's where it is."
Noah, who was once an All-Star caliber player and a Defensive Player of the Year, is now a shell of himself. He only played seven games last year because of his spat with now-fired head coach Jeff Hornacek in January.
The Knicks have hired David Fizdale, and although they aren't expected to compete this year with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined with a torn ACL, they are looking to change the culture in New York, and that means cutting bait with malcontented players like Noah.
Noah did meet with Fizdale over the summer, according to New York Post's Marc Berman, but they came to the agreement that the former first-team All-NBA player was not a good fit because of his desire for playing time and the fact that he wanted to play for a contender.
Noah averaged a career-low 1.7 points and two rebounds per game last season.
Phoenix Suns sign rookie
The Phoenix Suns expect great things from De'Anthony Melton, so they're making their union official.
They signed the guard to a guaranteed, two-year rookie deal worth $2.3 million, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania's league sources.
The Suns acquired Melton, the 46th pick in the 2018 NBA draft, in a trade with the Houston Rockets.
Phoenix shipped off forward Marquese Chriss and guard Brandon Knight in exchange for Melton and forward Ryan Anderson.
Melton had a strong showing in the Summer League, where he averaged 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Suns are hoping that he could pair well with high-scoring guard Devin Booker this upcoming season.
