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Rumors continued to swirl Tuesday about the role the Kings could play in a potential exchange between Jimmy Butler, the Minnesota star Timberwolves.
Butler, four-time NBA star, wants the Timberwolves to trade him and refused to show up at training camp. The implication of the Kings in any transaction would probably be as a third party facilitator using a salary cap space to acquire assets, probably not as a landing place for Butler.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday night that "circumstances will require introducing the Sacramento Kings into the process" to facilitate an agreement. According to Wojnarowski, the Kings have been aggressive against Minnesota and several potential trade candidates, proposing to use their space to absorb swollen contracts, possibly in exchange for pickaxes.
Sacramento has no first-round pick in 2019. The Kings could seize the opportunity to return to the first round to acquire a player that matches the lineup of an array of young talented players.
The Kings, who declined to comment Tuesday when they opened training camp at the Golden 1 Center, have a cap of $ 11 million, much more than any other league team. They also signed several contracts including Zach Randolph ($ 11.6 million), Iman Shumpert ($ 11 million) and Kosta Koufos ($ 8.7 million).
Relocating Randolph or Koufos would help solve the problem in a frontcourt that also includes Willie Cauley-Stein, Marvin Bagley III, Harry Giles III, Skal Labissiere and Nemanja Bjelica.
Wojnarowski said Kings' deputy general manager Brandon Williams had informed the teams that Sacramento was ready to win contracts for the 2019-2020 season. Williams and general manager Vlade Divac sat on the track as the Kings concluded their first practice session on Tuesday. None of them has been made available for interviews.
Timberwolves coach and basketball operations chairman Tom Thibodeau reportedly met Butler on Monday to convince him to join the team, but Butler refused.
"Our reality is that he asked for an exchange, so we will honor that," Thibodeau told CBSsports.com. "But we will not just do business. … Our conversations (between Butler and Thibodeau) will remain private. He asked for an exchange and we will honor his request. But we will not do anything wrong for the Timberwolves.
Teams involved in trade negotiations include Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. Players likely to arrive in Sacramento in a threesome include Gorgui Dieng of Minnesota, Hassan Whiteside of Miami, Allen Crabbe of Brooklyn and Danillo Gallinari of Los Angeles.
Jason Anderson: (916) 321-1363, @JandersonSacBee
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