Sacramento linked to Butler trade talks. How Kings could play important role

Rumors continued to swirl Tuesday regarding the role the Kings could play in a potential trade involving Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler.

Butler, a four-time NBA All-Star, wants the Timberwolves to trade him and has refused to report to training camp. The Kings involvement in any deal would likely be as a third-party facilitator using salary cap space to acquire assets, probably not as a landing spot for Butler.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported late Monday night that “circumstances will necessitate bringing the Sacramento Kings into the process” to facilitate a deal. According to Wojnarowski, the Kings have been aggressively courting Minnesota and several potential trade suitors, offering to use their cap space to absorb bloated contracts, possibly in exchange for draft picks.

Sacramento does not have a first-round draft pick in 2019. The Kings might jump at an opportunity to move back into the first round to acquire a player who fits the composition of a roster featuring several talented young players.

The Kings, who declined to comment Tuesday as they opened training camp at Golden 1 Center, have $11 million in cap space, far more than any other team in the league. They also have a number of expiring contracts that could be packaged in a deal, including Zach Randolph ($11.6 million), Iman Shumpert ($11 million) and Kosta Koufos ($8.7 million).

Moving Randolph or Koufos would help to solve the logjam in a frontcourt that also includes Willie Cauley-Stein, Marvin Bagley III, Harry Giles III, Skal Labissiere and Nemanja Bjelica.

Wojnarowski reported Kings assistant general manager Brandon Williams has informed teams that Sacramento is willing to take on contracts that extend into the 2019-20 season. Williams and general manager Vlade Divac were sitting courtside as the Kings concluded their first practice Tuesday. Neither was made available for interviews.

Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau reportedly met with Butler Monday to convince him to rejoin the team, but Butler declined.

“Our reality is that he has requested a trade, so we’ll honor that,” Thibodeau told CBSsports.com. “But we’re not just going to make any deal. … Our conversations (between Butler and Thibodeau) will remain private. He requested a trade and we’re going to honor his request. But we’re not going to do anything that’s bad for the Timberwolves.”

Teams that are reportedly engaging the Timberwolves in trade talks include the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks. Players who could conceivably come to Sacramento in a three-way deal might include Minnesota’s Gorgui Dieng, Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, Brooklyn’s Allen Crabbe and Los Angeles’ Danilo Gallinari.

This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 6:58 PM.