5 best landing spots for Jimmy Butler if he leaves the Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 23: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks to the media after the game 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) /

5 of 5

Mandatory Credit: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images /

1. Brooklyn Nets

The Nets, with just five players currently under contract for 2019-20 and projected cap space just north of $70 million next summer right now (via Spotrac), fit the criteria of an Eastern Conference team where Butler and Irving can team up and both get paid to the max contract level they expect.

Irving grew up and went to high school in New Jersey, so his desire to play closer to his hometown in Brooklyn would seem to be clear. From Butler’s end, a significant contract from the Nets and the ability to pair up with his former USA Basketball teammate would surely be enough to convince him to head to Brooklyn.

Next: 5 teams who may bite the bullet and sign Dwight Howard

The Nets seem to have the right coach in place with Kenny Atkinson, and they could rise quickly in a now far more wide-open, LeBron James-less, Eastern Conference over the next few years. Co-existing well with two stars the caliber of Irving and Butler would be a new frontier for Atkinson as a head coach. But he seems to be flexible and progressive enough to make it work, in a way someone with a “my way or the highway” attitude (like Thibodeau) can’t.

Home/Minnesota Timberwolves