Miami Heat fans everywhere woke up to exciting news on Wednesday morning when it was reported that disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler had pegged the Heat as his ideal trade destination.
It was always assumed that the Wolves would need to receive quite the offer to part ways with the All-Star forward, and it is now clear just how much the Heat will have to give up to welcome Butler to South Florida.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Wolves are looking for far more than just a few role players:
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“The Wolves reportedly are asking for stars, draft picks and starters for Butler. The Heat lacks the first but could offer its first-round pick in 2019 or 2020 and also could dangle multiple starters.”
A list of the players the Heat are willing to part ways with include Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow, Hassan Whitside, and Dion Waiters.
Jackson offered which current member of the Heat roster could help them take advantage of this incredible opportunity to bring a bonafide star to Miami:
“Though the preference is to keep (Josh) Richardson, Bam Adebayo, Kelly Olynyk and Justise Winslow, the Heat likely would need to relinquish at least one of those in a deal, unless Goran Dragic were surprisingly included.”
It seems that any trade that would bring Butler to Miami would include not one, but several significant pieces of its current rotation. While that would be a tough pill to swallow, it is hard to argue against trying to bring a player of Butler’s caliber to Miami.
The season is just around the corner, and as the Wolves and teams across the league look to finalize their rosters, the Butler sweepstakes could get really interesting really fast. Only time will tell if the Heat will prove to be the victors.
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