Jimmy Butler is either free of the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Minnesota Timberwolves are free of Jimmy Butler following reports Saturday of a trade to send the disgruntled star to the Philadelphia 76ers, thus ending one of the more bizarre NBA dramas in recent memory.
In return, the Timberwolves reportedly acquired forwards Robert Covington and Dario Saric, as well as veteran guard Jarryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round draft pick. They sent center Justin Patton to Philadelphia to complete the deal.
TRADE GRADES: 76ers take calculated risk with Butler deal
Butler initially demanded a trade this past offseason. When his request was not met in the first 13 games of the regular season, he openly criticized the team and chose to rest for select games. Now, he’ll get a fresh start with a likely playoff team in the 76ers, who add Butler to a core of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
As you might expect, NBA Twitter had some fun with the news.
The Sixers are finalizing a deal to trade for Jimmy Butler, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/8oAOdAnlV2
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 10, 2018
Butler is going to give Embiid so much extra material for him to say to KAT on the court. The trash talk from JoJo will be brutal.
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) November 10, 2018
“Here’s the 1st draft of your full-page ad thanking the Wolves for—-“
Jimmy Butler: pic.twitter.com/aJnrorZXig
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) November 10, 2018
A friend in Philly at the Flyers game just texted me “It got all quiet before the National Anthem at the game and some dude screamed we got Jimmy Butler and everyone went wild” #Sixers
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) November 10, 2018
Jimmy Butler when he sees Fultz and Simmons shooting in practice pic.twitter.com/gjAoAd55Aj
— Kofie (@KofieYeboah) November 10, 2018
Andrew Wiggins and KAT after seeing Jimmy Butler was traded to the Sixers pic.twitter.com/ibj5LVSwme
— What the Sports (@realwtsports) November 10, 2018
Big time move for Philly! https://t.co/4VzQPHBGt1
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) November 10, 2018
Other Philadelphia athletes were also pretty pumped about the potential move.
Welcome to the best sports city in America @JimmyButler ! #76ers https://t.co/qrT9FaOSJE
— Carson Wentz (@cj_wentz) November 10, 2018
Yooo @JimmyButler welcome to the new city. Wanna explore it together
— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) November 10, 2018
