It’s been nearly 24 hours, but it’s still hard to believe—Jimmy Butler has joined the Minnesota Timberwolves, reuniting with former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. The trade went down during the early picks of Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
Many said the Bulls didn’t get enough in return for Butler, who finished third-team All-NBA this year. In the deal, Chicago received Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Minnesota’s No. 7 pick, and the Timberwolves received Butler and the No. 16 pick.
Butler seems happy to be headed to a new situation—things had gotten messy in Chicago—but he was definitely unhappy with the way it went down.
Nonetheless, Butler has nothing but love for Chicago, where he spent the first six years of his career and blossomed from a late first-round pick into a three-time All-Star. Butler was the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2015, and his game took great strides with the Bulls.
Reflecting on the trade Friday, Butler penned a letter to Chicago and published it on his Instagram account Friday afternoon.
The full text of the message is below.
Butler joins a promising young T-Wolves squad that also boasts Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. Minnesota finished 31-51 this season—10 games out of the No. 8 seed in the West—but fans will have higher expectations for Butler and company this season.
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