Report: Clippers haven’t offered Tobias Harris to Wolves for Jimmy Butler

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Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris

The Los Angeles Clippers have yet to offer swingman Tobias Harris in any trade package to the Minnesota Timberwolves for star Jimmy Butler, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota would prefer to acquire Harris. Various trade packages have been proposed on both sides, but the Clippers do not intend to trade Harris.

The Clippers acquired Harris from the Detroit Pistons in the Blake Griffin trade. The 26-year-old appeared in 32 games with Los Angeles and averaged 19.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Harris turned down an $80 million extension offer from the Clippers in the offseason. He will make $14.8 million in 2018-19 and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.

Butler has requested a trade from the Timberwolves and is not with the team at the moment. Butler and his representatives have grown frustrated by how the Timberwolves have handled his trade request, and are skeptical of whether the franchise is truly trying to find a deal. The four-time All-Star reportedly prefers to play for the Miami Heat, but also wouldn’t mind a deal to the Clippers, Brooklyn Nets or New York Knicks.

While Timberwolves head coach/president Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden were reportedly uninterested in working on a deal as they preferred to keep Jimmy Butler, owner Glen Taylor intervened that he would entertain trade offers from rival owners and GMs. Taylor knows Butler has issues with big man Karl-Anthony Towns and small forward Andrew Wiggins, and doesn’t want a dysfunctional locker room this season.

Butler and his camp believe the Timberwolves’ asking price for the 29-year-old is too high, and that’s why a deal hasn’t been made yet. In 59 games last season, Butler averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

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