Woj: Trail Blazers Among Teams Interested In Jimmy Butler

The Portland Trail Blazers are among a handful of teams that would like to take Jimmy Butler trade talks further with the Minnesota Timberwolves, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. While Wojnarowski notes that no serious conversations with any teams have taken place, he did mention that the Blazers are at least interested in seeing what a deal will take.

So far, few franchises, if any, are engaged in serious conversations with the Timberwolves on Butler, sources said. But the list of organizations interested in talking further with Minnesota is significant, league sources said: Brooklyn, Detroit, Houston, the LA Clippers, Miami, Philadelphia and Portland are among the teams interested in probing for deals.

Butler’s trade demands have reached a fever pitch this week. The 29-year-old wing listed the Nets, Knicks, and Clippers as teams that he is willing to sign an extension with after his current contract expires.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe speculated that a realistic deal between Portland and Minnesota would likely have to include CJ McCollum. Along with breaking up their current backcourt, the Blazers would also have to thread the needle when it comes to making salaries work for both organizations.

Update: Dwight Jaynes of NBC Sports Northwest says that the Blazers are not offering Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum in trade talks.

In the Blazers calls with Minnesota, it was made clear that neither Damian Lillard nor CJ McCollum would be part of the discussions.