Jimmy Butler and The Timberwolves

On Wednesday, September 19^th a meeting between Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Jimmy Butler and Tom Thibodeau who is the team’s head coach and president of basketball operations to discuss Jimmy’s future with the team. It was at this meeting that Jimmy expressed his desire to be traded. There are many different components to this story that will be explored in this article. It was rumored over the summer that Butler was not enamored with the fact that the team’s two young stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins displayed traits to that are detrimental to winning. In the case of Towns Butler believes he is more concerned about his number than he is about winning. This trait seems to me to do with more of Towns being a young player and not being at a point in his career where is thinking I will do whatever it takes to win even if that means sacrificing some of my numbers. Andrew Wiggins has been labeled as soft which is the worst thing that you can say to an athlete. Once the report came out that Butler wanted to be traded Wiggin’s brother tweeted out Hallelujah which many people assume that Andrew endorsed. This tweet even caused former NBA player Stephen Jackson to put an Instagram video out where he calls out Wiggins for not having the heart need when playing basketball. Which caused a back and forth between Wiggins and Jackson on Instagram. 

With me covering the internal reasons why Butler wants out Minnesota I will now examine the front office’s response to Butler’s trade request. It was reported on Friday by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Timberwolves intend to keep Jimmy Butler. Here is the twist the owner of the team Glenn Taylor would like to trade Jimmy Butler to avoid any negative image of having a player on the team that clearly does not want to be there. This is the opposite thinking of the General Manager Scott Layden and Thibodeau who want to keep Butler because they know the basketball value he brings to the team and also the fact the pieces they get back most likely will not equate to players of Butler’s ability, or they are future assets in the form of draft picks which cannot help the team this season. Many people believe this could be Thibodeau’s last season of running basketball operations if not his last year with the team as a whole. Thibodeau would want to coach a playoff team which would make his tenure in Minnesota a success being that it would mean he not only made it 2 of his 4 seasons with the team but also it would the last two seasons. Obviously, with the owner wanting to trade Butler it is inevitable that it will happen. Taylor has a history getting involved in trades specifically when it came to the trading of the team’s previous stars in Kevin Love and Kevin Garnett. When you hire someone to do a job let them do that job because a leader who micromanages the results are usually a disaster. If you think about the most successful franchise the owners do not try to get involved unless necessary. Here are a few teams whose owners many would say are too involved and the organizations have had minimal success in that sport from a Wins and losses standpoint, Dallas Cowboys, New York Knicks, Washington Redskins. Here examples of teams who are successful and most likely you do not know the owner’s name San Antonio Spurs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Houston Rockets. Once the trade is complete it will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes between the front office and the owner and will this cause players if they do not see eye to eye with Thibodeau to go to the owner for support.

Butler also revealed a list of three teams he would like to be traded to which include the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. The teams he listed are interesting because they are teams not only in the two largest media markets which then opens many opportunities off the court. Also, each of these teams is expected to have or make cap space to sign two max contract players. The one team that was left off of his list were the Los Angeles Lakers who are expected to have enough cap space so they can sign one max player. In addition to the cap space this upcoming summer they have Lebron James. Jimmy Butler is a top 20 player and a top 5 two-way player, I can see why he would not want to play with Lebron. This is because not only does your style of play has to change but also with the way the team is orchestrated his role would be diminished. With Kawhi Leonard expected to explore free agency this summer imagine a team with Kawhi and Butler that team would tough to beat.

Finally, I want to offer a solution to what the Timberwolves should do with being Andrew Wiggins being labeled as soft and none of his teammates coming to his defense leaves me to believe they agree with what Stephen Jackson said. With him being a player from Canada it plays to the stereotype of non-American basketball players not having that toughness when chaos erupts, and you must fight your way out. Since his teammates feel that way trade Wiggins keep Butler and have Towns and Butler work through it. Teams must realize you do not have to like each but respect each other to get the job. With Wiggins being labeled soft they clearly do not respect Wiggins so send him to another team. If Butler id traded the Timberwolves miss the playoffs they will miss the playoffs by a mile because Butler is the Heart and soul of that team. He gives them a toughness and defensive presence needed when you want to win. Butler is simply a cut from a different cloth than his younger teammates so if he is traded I will see it being a veteran-filled team otherwise these issues will continue to manifest if the younger members are not about doing what it takes to win.

Le'veon Bell and The Pittsburgh Steelers

All-Pro Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’veon Bell is currently not reporting to the team due to his dissatisfaction with his contract. In the NFL teams can use the Franchise Tag, a tool used by teams so they can keep key players whom they can potentially lose in free agency and, so they do not hamstring the team’s salary cap situation for the upcoming year. The first time a player is franchise tagged teams must pay the player the average salary of the top five players at that given position. In rare instances, teams may franchise tag players two years in a row which requires the team to pay players a 120% increase from what the player made last year. This is the case for Le’veon Bell he has been franchise tagged for the 2018 and 2017 seasons. He is scheduled to make $14.5 million this year but he is looking for a long-term deal. Le’veon has told people he wants to be paid between $15 to $17 million a year like the amount of a top Wide Receiver makes in the league. The consensus was that a team would never pay a running back that amount of money because of the fact, when they reach their second contract most begin to decline and are not able to live up to the contract they signed. On July 24^th  the Los Angeles Rams changed the game by giving Todd Gurley a four-year contract extension worth $60 million with $45 million guaranteed. This not only reset the market for running backs, but I also believed once Le’veon saw the extension that Gurley received his extensions drew a line in the sand about signing the franchise tag tenure and showing up to training camp. Gurley who had 2 years remaining on his current contract received his extension which showed that if you have great talent which Le’veon and Gurley both have someone will be willing to pay you. Recently on September 5, 2018, several Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen spoke out against Le’veon and made unfavorable comments about the running back and even compared his salary to theirs. This crossed the line because there is an unspoken rule that you do not talk about how much someone else makes. With the season starting this week Le’veon Bell will not be with the team which means he is forfeiting $845K which is what he makes per game. Since Le’veon has not signed his franchise tenure he will not be fined for not being with the team he just will miss game checks for all games he does not attend. For Le’veon to get credited for a year of service with the Pittsburgh Steelers he must be active for 6 games and then he can become an unrestricted free agent. In theory, Le’veon can wait until week 10 to report to the team and still receive a full credited year of service. However, the Steelers can put Le’veon on the commissioner’s exempt list for 2 weeks in which they would not have to pay him. If I was Le’veon I would show up week 8 to make sure that I am credited for a full year and to have a talk with the offensive linemen about them throwing me under the bus. Steeler’s star wide receiver Antonio Brown came to the defense of Le’veon with an Instagram post saying “We all we got, we all we need. Ready to roll whenever you get back with us, family” and tagged Le’veon in the post. This will most likely be Le’veon’s last year in Pittsburgh and with both sides knowing that you have a difference in philosophies from the player and team standpoints. If you’re the Steelers, you will do everything you can to win and Le’veon gives your team the best chance to win; this means the Steelers will put the ball in his hand as much as possible. Le’veon’s thought process is to take the least amount of hits as possible, knowing when it comes to negotiating his next contract next season his new team will use all the touches he has this season against him. Le’veon touched the football over 400 times last year and if he were to do that this year the chances him of getting the big payday he is looking for this offseason will be diminished. Until the NFL gives guaranteed contracts to their players the star players I believe they will hold out until they are able to get what they think they are worth. We have seen this happen in 2 other instances this year with Aaron  Donald and Khalil Mack both players ended getting their money. I do not see Le’veon coming back until absolutely needs to, so he can become a free agent next year and I completely agree with him.    

Kaepernick and Nike

On Monday September 3rd Nike revealed that they are using former NFL Quarterback Collin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign. Many different opinions have been expressed about weather Nike is hijacking the conversation to take the backlash that they currently facing from lawsuits being filed against them for gender and racial discrimination; as well Nike’s history of the questionable labor conditions in which the employees who make the Nike sneakers are subject to. The other opinion being; Nike will not only stand by their athletes but will also be on the right side of history when future generations look back on the historical Kaepernick situation. At the beginning of the 2016 season Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against minorities of color. He received much backlash from people including President Trump who all claimed he was disrespecting the American flag. Much of that narrative has continued to be pushed despite the fact that Kaepernick was once told by a former Green Beret Nate Boyer that to show respect to the military you should kneel not sit during the national anthem. Fast Forward to 2018 Kaepernick has filed a lawsuit against the NFL for collusion by the NFL owners to keep him out of the league. There is a growing sentiment among certain fans that the NFL has colluded to keep Kaepernick of the league; Many have given the example of several lesser talented quarterbacks getting jobs ahead of Kaepernick.

I believe Nike is making a great business decision because they are using Kaepernick to spread his message while simultaneously making sure they are constantly talked about, especially with this milestone in their company’s history happening. Nike is also choosing to side with the 18-35 demographic which is not only the core target audience but also many of who believe in Kaepernick's past actions and current message. Another thing that I would applaud Nike for is that they also realize black people buy shoes and apparel as well. In the end this is a win win for Nike and Kaepernick Nike gets talked about even more. Kaepernick receives a full apparel, shoe line and a platform, which he can use the proceeds to continue to further his cause to spread his message of wanting everyone to be treated with respect.