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5 trades the Cavs can make for Jimmy Butler

By Quenton S. Albertie

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 23: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots a free throw against the Houston Rockets in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 23: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots a free throw against the Houston Rockets in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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INDEPENDENCE, OH – SEPTEMBER 24: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts on September 24, 2018 in Independence, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
INDEPENDENCE, OH – SEPTEMBER 24: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts on September 24, 2018 in Independence, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Cavs receive: Jimmy Butler

Timberwolves receive: Collin Sexton, Kyle Korver, Jordan Clarkson

This trade is one that could go down tomorrow if either side wanted to strike a deal.

Yet, it’s also a trade that requires the Cavs to trade three talented players for one player that may not stick around past the season. The two players that the Cavs would be willing to deal are 37-year-old sharpshooter Kyle Korver and 26-year-old Jordan Clarkson.

While Korver provides three-point marksmanship that the Wolves lack dearly, this is also a chance for the Cavs to send him to a team that’s a shoo-in for the playoffs in what could be his last season.

Clarkson may not fit a need that the Wolves have but when you compare his relentless attacking playstyle to Rose, who Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau has shown a long-lasting affinity for, you can see how he may appeal to them.

Without giving up their first-round pick next season (conditionally), the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a chance to replace Sexton next summer. That’s big for them because even though they’re unlikely to finish with a bottom-10 record after this deal and keep the pick, they have at least some sort of ace in the hole should their trade backfire.

In the meantime, a Big Two or Three of Butler, Kevin Love and potentially Rodney Hood could be enough for the Cavs to make real noise in the East and perhaps even convince Butler to return.