On Wednesday, September 19th 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.
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