Jimmy Butler trade ‘unlikely’ as Nets talk up their own

Brian Lewis and Greg Logan both quote sources Thursday that a Nets deal for Jimmy Butler is neither “imminent or even likely” and in fact the Nets are “not engaged” in trade talks with Minnesota for the four-time All-Star. This follows a report from Adrian Wojnarowski Wednesday that talks between the Nets and Timberwolves have gained “no traction.”

Lewis wrote as well that Brooklyn is “not in active talks” while Logan stated, “It’s not happening. An NBA source told Newsday the Nets are not pursuing Butler,”

In his tweet Wednesday afternoon, Woj suggested that the Heat are “most engaged” with the Timberwolves, while talks with both the Clippers and Nets are going nowhere, at least for now.

Later, Woj and Zach Lowe laid out where the Nets and the other teams stand...

The Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Cleveland Cavaliers are among teams interested with Butler, league sources said. The Brooklyn Nets have interest, but they haven’t been engaged recently with Minnesota, sources said. Washington and Dallas are among teams who’ve gauged the asking price on Butler too, league sources said.

One big reason cited by Lewis and Logan is that the Nets are increasingly happy with their own wings, particularly Caris LeVert, the 6’7” wing who has wowed everyone in camp according to various teammates and Coach Kenny Atkinson.

“First two days of training camp, he’s been fantastic, quite honestly. I’m going to call it like it is,” Atkinson said of LeVert.

Lewis reports the team is happy with their own wings ... all of whom have been mentioned in various iterations of Butler trade speculation.

Caris LeVert, DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe — all of whom have been linked with Butler in trade rumors — stand to play major minutes for Brooklyn, as does Joe Harris. And with the Nets not in active talks over Butler, all four could be with the team for a while.

LeVert, of course, is the prize as virtually every pundit has written. Minnesota has made overtures about LeVert in the past. He said all the speculation doesn’t faze him.

“I don’t really get into that type of stuff too much,” LeVert said Wednesday. “Obviously as a player, it’s good to feel wanted, and it’s good for other people to acknowledge what you’ve been doing on the court. But, like I said, I don’t get into that too much. I love it here in Brooklyn, and I want to play here a long time.”

Atkinson also held out the possibility of LeVert starting, “We’ll see. Too early to make that call yet. I think he’s made a jump physically, and he’s starting to understand the change of pace needed to play. Him and Rondae [Hollis-Jefferson] are our two most active defenders.”

Speculation about a Butler trade began last week when Woj and others reported that Butler had told Minnesota head coach Tom Thibodeau that he wanted out and named three teams he preferred as a destination, the Nets, Knicks and Clippers. The Knicks have expressed no interest either.

• Nets plan to rely on trio discussed in potential Butler package - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Nets won’t part with Caris LeVert in deal for Jimmy Butler, source says - Greg Logan - Newsday
• BROOKLYN NETS TRAINING CAMP: FIRST IMPRESSIONS LOOK GOOD ON CARIS LEVERT - Tom Dowd - Brooklyn Nets
• Nets coach already working on fixing a past weakness - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Jeff Hornacek will be with the Nets during camp - Brian Lewis - New York Post