With the Jimmy Butler trade looking to be imminent, the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to spend training camp attempting to figure out what their starting lineup will look like without the All-NBA wing. Butler played nearly 37 minutes per game last season, so he'll leave a gaping hole in the rotation if and when he's finally traded.

So who's the leading candidate to take Butler's spot? None other than Derrick Rose.

According to Julian Andrews of Timberwolves.com, head coach Tom Thibodeau has been running Rose with the starters so far in training camp, and the veteran point guard has emerged as the leading candidate to earn the starting job. From Andrews:

Coach Tom Thibodeau talked about working with smaller, two point guard lineups in addition to bigger ones.

"We have a lot of versatility, we have guys who can play multiple positions," he said. "You have to be both. You have to have the ability to play big, and you also have to have the ability to play small and change the speed of the game."

... It looks like Rose has the inside track to starting alongside [Jeff] Teague and splitting primary ball-handling duties, at least for now.

Thibodeau also said that he likes having players on the floor who can shoot 3-pointers, and then mentioned Teague (37 percent last season), Rose (23 percent) and Tyus Jones (35 percent). The idea of having a smaller, faster lineup is risky, but replacing Butler with another wing doesn't really make sense given the other small forward options currently on the roster.

The Timberwolves acquired veteran Luol Deng this offseason, who hasn't played relevant NBA minutes in a season and a half -- even Thibodeau's affection for former players probably isn't enough to get him into the starting lineup. Rookie Josh Okogie has reportedly impressed with his motor thus far, but throwing him into the fray on a team with playoff hopes is perhaps a bit premature.

The obvious answer is that the Wolves pick up a starting-caliber wing in whatever deal they end up making for Butler, but that's easier said than done. They have pretty much no leverage in negotiations, and you have to imagine they will take whatever assets they can get regardless of positional fit.

Rose, who signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Wolves in July, played a relatively large role for Minnesota in the playoffs last season, averaging 14.2 points in 23.8 minutes off the bench. Even so, it's hard to consider the 29-year-old a starting point guard given his injury history and inconsistency.

We'll have to wait and see which players the Wolves end up acquiring in a potential Butler deal, but it's quite possible that Rose is in the starting lineup on opening night.