Rumors heating up as Wolves approach Thursday night's NBA Draft

By: Cal Colbert

It's crazy to think that the 2017 NBA Draft is still 30-plus hours away considering the ridiculous amount of trade rumors swirling the web and more completed trades than I would have ever expected at this time. This truly is both a fun and frustrating time of the off-season for NBA fans everywhere. We see some of our favorite players leave in trades or free agency, but we also see new stars, young talent, and veterans added to the roster of our favorite teams. 

Concerning the Wolves, there have recently been talks about two big-name players coming to Minnesota.  
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The first being forward Andre Iguodala. The sixth man of the year candidate is a free agent this off-season and is coming off a season where he just won his second ring with the Golden State Warriors. Recently in an article written by Shams Charania of the Vertical it was reported that many teams are looking to try and land Iguodala on their roster this offseason. Minnesota is one of the teams linked to wanting Iguodala.

Iguodala, in my opinion, would be a great addition to this Wolves roster. Depending on what Tom Thibodeau wants to do with him, Iguodala would be a multi-tool off the bench. Not only is he a great defender with a very high basketball IQ, his veteran presence and great leadership would be extremely beneficial for this young and inexperienced Wolves team.

Iguodala could potentially sign a contract up to $20 million a year this offseason. As much as I would love to have Iguodala on this team, I don't think I would be willing to pay him 20 million a year. The most that I would be willing to pay for Iguodala is 15-17 million a year. Iguodala is 33 years old already and I wouldn’t want to lock him into too big of a contract. Especially because we have seen him struggle with some lingering injuries the last two seasons. 

The other potential player we could bring in through trade is Jimmy Butler. Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted on Monday that Minnesota has assets and interest in trading for Jimmy Butler. I'm assuming a trade would probably look something like Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the Wolves' seventh overall pick from this upcoming draft for Butler. The Wolves would certainly miss LaVine, but I would love this trade knowing Butler would make an immediate impact on the Wolves in every way.

The seventh year wing out of Marquette is one of the best two-way guards in the NBA. He brings a veteran presence, he has playoff experience, and was a apart of four winning seasons with Thibs in Chicago. This trade just makes sense for the Wolves. They have so much young talent already and are in need some sort of veteran leadership on this roster. Butler consistently brings a much-needed defensive presence to a team that desperately lacks any semblance of defensive discipline.

Of the two options, I would be all in for the Jimmy Butler trade. The Wolves are a team full of young potential and hopefully future stars, but also in dire need of a veteran leader and someone who brings a little of everything to the team. I think we can all agree that Butler brings more than just a little of everything if he was to join the Wolves, even more than a great glue-guy like Andre Iguodala.

If Tom Thibodeau can manage to bring Jimmy Butler to Minnesota - without giving up Andrew Wiggins (and obviously Karl-Anthony Towns) - both sides will be in a great position to be successful. ​