Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has made it clear to president of basketball operations/coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden that Jimmy Butler is on the trade block — and Taylor wants the front office moving quickly to find a deal, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rival teams are struggling to engage Layden in trade discussions, sources said.
On Friday, sources told Wojnarowski that Taylor and the front office differed in their opinions on potentially trading Butler, with Thibodeau not in favor of the idea and Taylor telling teams to reach out to him if they struggled to have discussions with Layden.
The 29-year-old Butler prefers a trade to the LA Clippers and has a strong interest with the New York Knicks as well as an interest with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources said. Those three teams have the salary-cap space to sign Butler outright next summer to a maximum contract extension. Those three teams — and many more around the league — could be willing to trade for Butler now under the right circumstances, league sources said.
Butler is eligible for a five-year, $190 million contract extension with the Wolves or with a team that acquires him in a trade. He can sign a four-year, $141 million deal with a new team.