On November 11, 2018, the farce between the Timberwolves and Butler finally came to an end. Butler left the Timberwolves as he wished and came to a team with championship potential, and the Timberwolves continued to focus on cultivating their two top picks.
1. The Timberwolves after the Butler trade: Tyler Barton? Salisi, Covington, Bayless, 2022 second-round pick
Butler came to Philadelphia and became Embiid The most reliable helpers around him, the Timberwolves finally figured out their thinking and began to build a team around the two No. 1 picks to add to the team. In exchange for the space-based fourth position Sarizzi and the league's top 3D Covington, the team can be regarded as Start getting on track.
However, after this transaction, the Timberwolves' record did not improve much. On the one hand, the team lacked a competent linker. At this time, Teague's sticking problem in Minnesota not only did not improve, On the contrary, it is getting worse. The team's games rely entirely on the piecemeal singles of the two top picks to maintain its firepower. Coupled with the changes in the team's management personnel, the new president of basketball operations plans to make a major change for the team and establish Towns as the absolute leader. As a result, the core team has traded around Wiggins and other operations regarding the chips obtained in the Butler trade.
2. About Sarizzi: The 11th pick in 2019? The 6th pick in 2019
After Sarizzi came to the Timberwolves, he did not perform as well as he did in the previous year. The momentum of Philadelphia's sword-carrying guards disappointed the Timberwolves. So on the eve of the 2019 draft, Sarizzi traded the No. 11 pick of that year for the No. 6 pick of that year and selected Jarrett Culver from Texas Tech University. This young combo guard was He averaged 9.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this season. On the offensive end, Culver has the most diverse finishing methods among this rookie class. At the same time, the flexibility and toughness on the defensive end are what the Timberwolves urgently need.
3. About Covington: Robert Covington Jordan Belketta Bates Diop Shabazz Napier Noah Vonleh Malik Beasley Juan - Hernangomez Evan Turner Jared Vanderbilt 2020 Nets first-round lottery-protected pick
In the four-party transaction at this year’s trade deadline, the Timberwolves considered Wenton acted as the main body and came up with a deal to make a lump sum. The team traded Bell, Napier and others who were not part of the main rotation in exchange for two capable players in Beasley and Hernangomez.
As for this deal, as far as Beasley and Hernangomez are concerned, on the one hand, the Timberwolves can rely on these two to improve the team's poor offensive space. Both of them are above the league average. The three-point shooter can share the pressure with Towns. On the other hand, both are rookie contract years. The Timberwolves can extend the contract based on the performance of the two players, or let the two become free agents, which gives them great flexibility. Secondly, in this deal, the Timberwolves received a lottery-protected pick from the Nets. The Nets are currently on the edge of the playoffs and may still make it to the playoffs. There is a high probability that this pick belongs to the Timberwolves. Evan Turner is currently negotiating a buyout with the Timberwolves. He only has the last year of his contract left and will not have a big impact on the Timberwolves.
To sum up, Butler brought a first-round pick, a second-round pick, rookie Culver, and two capable players in Beasley and Hernangomez to the Timberwolves. Generally speaking, the Timberwolves make neither a profit nor a loss in this transaction. They exchanged a strong general who is in the Cao camp and his heart is in the Han Dynasty for three young people. If they can grow into immediate combat capabilities, then this transaction will definitely be beneficial to the Timberwolves. It's a big help.