According to multiple reports, The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded former All-Star guard Jimmy Butler and their 16th pick in the 2017 draft, Justin Patton, to the Philadephia 76ers in exchange for Robert Covington, Dario Saric and a future 2022 2nd round draft pick.
Shams Charania first broke the news earlier today on Twitter:
Minnesota has traded Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton to Philadelphia for Robert, Covington, Dario Saric and a 2022 second-round draft pick, league sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 10, 2018
Jimmy Butler is expected to sign a long-term extension with the team when he can opt out of his current contract in July. That offer could get to as much as a 5-year $190 million dollar contract.
This trade can be seen as a Win for both teams. As the Timberwolves gain youth in Dario Saric, 24, who is only in his 3rd year in the league. As well as an NBA All-Defensive small forward in Robert Covington. The Sixers, of course, get a huge piece in Jimmy Butler, forming what they hope to be a new Big Three in the east, consisting of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and now Jimmy Butler.
This trade is going to have an immediate impact on the NBA playoff landscape as a whole. The Western Conference is now minus an All-Star, and in the East, the 76ers are much more of a threat to the top-seeded teams in the Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks.
