Jimmy Butler Reportedly Sitting Out Jazz Game in an Attempt to Force Trade

Jimmy Butler is sitting out Wednesday's game, ostensibly for rest and a "general soreness." But it's really an act of passive resistance to force a trade.

October 31, 2018

You forgot about the Jimmy Butler drama, didn't you? The malcontent Timberwolves wing has been suiting up for the Wolves this season and some fans might've thought his offseason trade demand had been retracted—just like coach Tom Thibodeau hoped it would. Nope.

A Halloween report from The Athletic's Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski says Butler will be absent from Wednesday night's game against the visiting Jazz in an attempt to force the hand of Thibs and GM Scott Layden.

Thibodeau is pretending Butler's absence is actually general soreness and precautionary rest, like he's ever voluntarily rested a player in his whole life.

Thibs is still getting booed at home games and Wednesday night will be no exception. Wednesday also marks the first day Houston can trade Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, who they got in a swap this summer.

But ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports the T-Wolves are still asking too much for Butler.

Through the six games Butler has started for Minnesota so far this season, he's leading the team in scoring at 22.5 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting, including 48 percent from deep. But the Wolves are minus 5.6 points per 100 possessions worse when he's on the court than when he's off, and while that's a tiny sample size, it's hard not to wonder if it's the result of chemistry issues stemming from that chaotic practice during training camp.

The Wolves need to trade him already, or the whole ordeal will continue to fester until it explodes in some unforeseen way again.