The Jimmy Butler saga has dragged on for nearly three weeks. That’s not all that long in the context of a star player getting traded (Kyrie Irving’s trade to Boston took about six weeks). Considering that opening night is nine days away, it feels like an eternity.



At least three different times in the last week, the Wolves appeared to be making significant progress on a deal to trade their four-time All-Star. Each time, they haven’t been able to cross the finish line, most recently over the weekend with the Miami Heat, as ESPN first reported.



Now that the Wolves are returning from Iowa, and have four days before their final preseason game of the season, the timing would never seem to be better to pull off a deal, if they truly want to do one. There has been widespread skepticism throughout the league that Tom Thibodeau truly does want to pull the trigger and send out one of his favorite players, with Sam Amick reporting that the Houston Rockets are...