Admittedly, I’m not very good at math. But even great mathematicians might be having a hard time counting all of the rumors that suggest Jimmy Butler already has his bags packed and is ready to run from Minnesota as soon as possible.
You’ve read the reports this summer.
- Butler is “fed up” with Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Bulls reporter believes Butler, Kyrie Irving will team up in 2019.
- Butler says he hasn’t ruled out a return to Chicago in the future.
- Butler uncertain about playing with Andrew Wiggins.
- Fans are making a big deal about Butler’s Instagram comment.
The list goes on and on, and Butler has yet to squash any of the negativity by simply saying he likes being a Wolf and enjoys life in Minnesota. Nope, not a word from the All-Star guard.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s analysts are already looking ahead to the summer of 2019 when Butler, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and other stars will become free agents. And those experts have a consensus opinion that Butler will not return to the Wolves.
“As with Irving, our panel sees New York as Butler’s most likely destination, though it’s difficult to see at this moment how the Knicks would create the cap space for both of them (not to mention the chance Durant chooses New York too). Perhaps most telling about these results though is the fact that 10 possible Butler destinations were listed, in addition to his current team.
“Butler was also the only player in our Forecast for whom his current team didn’t finish first or second in the voting, with only 12 percent of panelists seeing Minnesota as his long-term home. Expect the four-time All-Star to have a new team next summer.”
Butler turned down a contract extension the Wolves offered him this summer, likely because he’ll be able to make a lot more money if he waits for an offer next summer.
At this point, every day that passes seems to be one day closer to the end of Butler’s short time with the Wolves.
