Pardon me if I’m still digesting this Timberwolves trade for Jimmy Butler a full four days after it happened. It’s just that 1) this isn’t the kind of trade the Wolves (or any Minnesota team) tends to make and 2) I found out about this deal while watching the NBA Draft in a sports bar inside a minor league ballpark in suburban Atlanta during a rain delay. We just returned from our annual baseball road trip around midnight last night, and being back in Minnesota is helpful somehow in fully unpacking this whole thing.
As with any blockbuster trade, this one had immediate reactions — most of them leaning heavily toward favoring the Wolves for getting Butler and the No.