Timberwolves Owner Wants Jimmy Butler Gone in 'Several Days'

ESPN's sources say Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has mandated that his team find a way to trade the All-Star forward within the next "several days."

The Jimmy Butler saga at Minnesota might be over by the end of the month. ESPN's sources say Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has mandated that his team find a way to trade the All-Star forward within the next "several days."

Training camp for the Timberwolves begins on Tuesday and it appears that Taylor wants to enter the season without the distraction of the Butler story hanging over his team. The Timberwolves president of basketball operations and coach Tom Thibodeau have objected to the idea of a Butler trade, but Taylor still reportedly wants a deal to get done. Teams that have expressed interest include the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, L.A. Clippers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Portland Trail Blazers.

Other outlets have reported that Butler does not plan to appear for the beginning of trading camp, while sources around the team told ESPN that a trade is a certainty, what remains to be seen is who and when. It's a big shift from just a few days ago when Butler's camp was calling rumors of a trade "manufactured."

"The owner's trading him," a source on the board of governors told ESPN. "That was made clear. It's just a matter of when."

Latest in Sports