Jimmy Butler bringing Kyle Lowry to Minnesota?

Jimmy Butler is reportedly courting Kyle Lowry to join the Minnesota Timberwolves in an attempt to go from a Big-Three to a Big-Four. 

In Thursday’s Jimmy Butler press conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ new superstar seemed to make a great impression on Wolves’ fans attending the conference at the Mall of America Rotunda. Not only did he give out his phone number for fans (or haters) to call, but he’s also apparently been giving some notable free agents phone calls.

Butler’s comment should bring excitement to Wolves fans who experienced a rather quiet free agency last offseason, but let’s clear up one thing. There’s no free agent available that is “a lot better” than Butler when free agency starts on Friday night.

That being said, reports have spilled that Butler has reached out to 3-time All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry to join him with the Wolves. Legion Hoops tweeted a picture of what a Wolves Big-Four of Lowry, Butler, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns would look like. I must say, they don’t look half bad together.

While I have seen mixed reactions on a potential Lowry-to-Minnesota signing, I see Lowry as a perfect fit with the Wolves. Of course, Lowry isn’t the distributor at point guard that incumbent starter Ricky Rubio is, but he is a more efficient scorer and a solid defender, ranking in the top 20 of Defensive Win Shares in 2016-17. On top of that, Lowry averaged a career-high 22.4 points, 7.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 60 games.

Yes, there’s an argument that the Wolves don’t need a scorer at point guard with Butler, Wiggins and Towns aboard. Yet, Lowry is still a capable distributor and gives the Wolves an above average shooter. In fact, Lowry shot 46.4 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three last season, encouraging numbers for a team that ranked in the bottom third of the NBA in three-point percentage.

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At 31 years old, a long term commitment may scare fans, but Lowry has blossomed later in his career, much like former star point guard Chauncey Billups. After his best professional season in 2016-17, Lowry should have a few productive seasons left in the tank.

The real problem that the Timberwolves have in adding Lowry to the fold is that he will come with a large price tag. He could receive a 4-year max contract around 150 million and likely will take that up after making only 12 million the last two seasons.

Currently, the Wolves only have around 19 million in cap space. Consequently, Minnesota would have to find a trade destination for Rubio to rid themselves of his 14 million dollar cap hit. The latest rumors suggest that the Utah Jazz are in on him, pending George Hill leaving in free agency.

Even with a Rubio trade, the Wolves would have little cap space after a Lowry signing. Such a move wouldn’t allow the team to improve their bench, which could present depth issues in a long NBA season.

With that, is Butler’s attempt to bring Lowry to Minnesota the right move? I’m not sure. On paper, adding a top-10 point guard sounds great, but also depth is key to championship success and a Lowry signing almost certainly makes adding depth to the roster difficult.

Nevertheless, we should find out in a matter of 24 hours whether the Lowry-to-Minnesota steam is legitimate. If Lowry comes to Wolves, you can be assured that Jimmy Buckets played a huge role in bringing another star to Minnesota.

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