Minnesota Timberwolves Trade Jimmy Butler To Philadelphia: Report

MINNEAPOLIS — There's good news for Minnesota Timberwolves fans. After the Wolves lost five consecutive games, the Jimmy Butler saga looks to be finally over.

Minnesota is trading Butler and Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round draft pick, sources told the Athletic's Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania.

The public drama surrounding Butler and the Wolves began in September, when fans and media learned that Butler was demanding that the Wolves trade him to a different team.

Things went from bad to worse when Butler returned to practice for the first time in October. Sources told ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski that during the practice, Butler was "verbally challenging teammates, coaches and front office."

Butler even swore at GM Scott Layden, according to Wojnarowski.

Unsurprisingly, Wolves fans later booed Butler during the team's home opener. Fans became even more frustrated when he began missing games due to the ambiguous reason of "general soreness."

But Butler's desire to be traded never wavered, nor did his antics. At one point while the Wolves were losing to Golden State, Butler began waving a towel in celebration along with Warriors fans.

Fans and media Saturday immediately began speculating on how the Wolves players would react to the trade.

Photo: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves prepares to shoot a free throw during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 19, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Cavaliers 131-123. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)