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Last month, Chicago Sun Times writer Joe Cowley dropped a bomb when he revealed that Jimmy Butler was frustrated with his Wolves teammates and was interested in leaving Minnesota to form a superteam with good friend Kyrie Irving.
A league source close to the situation told the Sun-Times on Tuesday that Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving and former Bulls All-Star Jimmy Butler — who’s been playing with the Timberwolves since a draft-night trade in 2017 — are still trying to figure out a way to play together. The Celtics could try to acquire Butler this summer, or the two former Team USA teammates could simply opt out of their player options after next season and join forces then. Their intent is to build an elite backcourt, whether that’s in Boston or somewhere else in the East.
A league source said Butler, who has been frustrated with the nonchalant attitudes of younger teammates — specifically Karl-Anthony Towns
Today, Butler officially declined a 4-year max contract extension from the Wolves which puts the team in a tough position.
#Twolves All-Star Jimmy Butler has officially turned down the Wolves' 4-year, $110M range extension offer, per owner Glen Taylor. Full interview posting soon, which includes stuff on KAT extension talks, Thibs, filling out the roster, and #LosLynx.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 13, 2018
News of Butler declining his contract extension comes a day after he liked an Instagram post about him and Kyrie Irving joining forced to play in New York.
Jimmy Butler liked a comment saying he and Kyrie should come to the Knicks next summer. 👀 pic.twitter.com/NnkCsXXLEL
— Thomas Duffy (@TJDhoops) July 12, 2018
Butler was always going to decline this year’s contract extension considering he that he’s going be eligible for a 5-year max next year but the team may choose to trade him if he keeps sending signals that he wants out.