Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns reportedly recruiting Irving to Minnesota
If Kyrie Irving is on the trade market, then Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns want the Timberwolves to get involved.
In an lengthy article discussing Irving’s meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers to request a trade, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Butler and Towns have been recruiting Irving to Minnesota. Windhorst further says that the players made the team’s management aware that they want Irving.
The Timberwolves were among the teams Irving reportedly would be open to joining. The Spurs, Knicks and Heat are also on his list.
Even if the Timberwolves want Irving and he has interest in joining them, putting together such a deal is a lot easier said than done.
The Cavaliers would demand a lot of talent in return and require salaries to match up. One player who would make sense in such a deal is Jeff Teague, who was signed as a free agent this month. But he can’t be traded until mid-December because of league rules. The T-Wolves would also only have so much money to go around given what is owed to Butler and Gorgui Dieng, and what Andrew Wiggins would see coming when he is eligible for an extension.
Regardless, just to have their team be a part of these kinds of conversations shows just how far the Timberwolves have come, and that has to be encouraging for the franchise.
