Now that Tom Thibodeau’s most prized addition appears headed out of Minnesota, should the coach and president of basketball operations be right behind?
The Jimmy Butler saga appears headed to an inevitable conclusion after a week that began with him making a trade request and ended with the front office granting him permission to skip what would have been an awkward media day on Monday. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed tonight that the team is now “aligning its organizational focus” toward trading Butler (Twitter link).
Wolves owner Glen Taylor confirmed Friday that Butler is available and is advising rival owners to make trade offers directly to him if necessary. That followed news earlier in the day that the organization wasn’t listening to teams that were calling about Butler.
Those conflicting reports suggest a rift in the front office that’s just as big as the one rumored to be in the locker room. And it’s not hard to figure out who’s on which side. Thibodeau has been a long-time supporter of Butler dating back to their days in Chicago. He also understands that his chances of returning to the playoffs — and maybe keeping his job — are much better with Butler on the roster.
However, Butler’s intense attitude hasn’t been good for team chemistry. There have been reports of frequent clashes with young stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and Charania suggested this week that Towns wouldn’t commit to an extension until he was sure Butler wouldn’t be back. Tonight’s announcement that Towns has accepted a five-year, supermax contract could be the surest sign yet that Butler’s fate is sealed.
But if Butler is gone, is there much of an argument for keeping Thibodeau? He’s the architect of the current “Timber-Bulls” roster that brought former Chicago players Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Luol Deng to Minnesota along with Butler. He has a 78-86 record in two seasons with Minnesota, and the veteran-laden roster he has helped to assemble doesn’t fit the timeline of an organization that figures to be constructed around its two young stars.
We want to get your opinion. Should the Wolves get rid of Thibodeau now or should they be patient and see if he can have create a better relationship between the younger and older factions once Butler is gone? Please leave your responses in the space below.
If butler is traded by the owner he should leave on his own.
No way can they keep him as their Coach .. Cut the cord now Mr Taylor ..
Monk,Kidd-Gilchrist, and a first round pick for Jimmy.
CHA would be insane to do that.
Dionis traded his boyfriend to Minnesota!
Lebron signing with Charlotte to play with Monk lol.
The rift appears too significant. I’d probably fire Thibs if I’m Glen Taylor. I think he’s overrated anyway.
Tib’s brought the team back to the playoffs. He deserves a chance to see how this year goes and they can get a decent return for Butler they will be very competitive.
I think you’re right, that Thibs could do fine and that the roster has plenty of talent to compete with a good return for Butler. I just don’t think Thibs thinks that.
The team doesn’t believe in thibs as a leader. He should leave.
Lol if they extended for anything less than a championship and we all know that’s not gonna happen
Thibs must go & hopefully won’t get another HC gig in the league. This guy single handedly has destroyed the rebuilt in Minny, they lost Dunn, ZLV & Markkanen. Also are full of guys like Teague, Deng & Taj that need to go also asap, so they can get younger players that fit better the young stars timeline. Personally I do like more Dieng than Taj, complements KAT better with his deffense & doesnt take the amount of shots that Taj did, you would have thought he was a star player, many nights shot more than KAT, SMH. All that damage may cost Minny many years to repair, what Thibs has done is criminal in Minny, & all for just one playoff appearance, with patience they could have had a very competitive team now. Thibs is a clown & knows nothing, proof is never won anything anywhere.
MIN got an enormous bargain trading for jimmy. ZLV is worth about half of that $80m contract, Dunn is a replacement level player. MIN just totally botched that Patton pick. But it was then and is still now a steal.
This all falls on Thibs’ inabilities to coach. To have so much talent and to piss it away, whilst actively creating a fractured locker room with the Timber-Bulls.
He’s gotta go.
Not a bargain when you consider the 7th pick that could have netted us lots of good players including Markkanen OR ——. Donovan Mitchell!!!
Could have had Mitchell, Markkanen, DSJ, Kuzma, or Adebayo
Oh how the winds change in a year. When the Butler trade went through, I was excited. And I still think that without the benefit of hindsight it was a good trade at the time. Better ego management (enormous factor in the NBA) and the Butler/Towns animosity doesn’t even have to happen. But the only guy above Thibs is a 77 year old billionaire print shop manager and former state senator. He needs basketball-minded oversight.
Once you get very publicly overridden by the owner, I think that’s pretty much a vote of “no confidence,” and you should probably just bow out gracefully. I don’t see how this gets better.
(Continued)……..I think Thibs makes a great defensive coach, but I just don’t think that head coaching, and especially executive-level front office positions, are a good fit for him.
I think that he could do fine in the HC role with the right front office keeping him in his lane, but giving him control over the roster is way too much.
This has to be the end of Thibs. Like multiple others have said, you can’t have player personnel responsibilities, and then have them ripped from you on your favourite player without their being an rift the is not repairable.
Add in the super max signing of KAT, one of the players that Butler is not happy with, and doesn’t share the intensity that Thibs and Butler want, and Thibs has lost total control over his decision making powers.
If they’re not going to let him run the team for five or six more years, dump him the day Butler leaves.
There is no scenario where this ends well.
I’m really not a fan of the coach on the floor and the GM in the front office being the same guy. You have to always see the entire breadth of the forest and always see every detail of each individual tree, simultaneously.
It rarely or never happens in other sports and only happens in basketball because rosters are generally smaller and less complex when compared to the other sports.
A coach should be people-positive, with elevated expectations; a GM should be people-skeptical, with realistic expectations.
He is Defensive Coach with Offensive Minded Players I’m not sure he should be a Head Coach period Maybe a Assistant The Times have passed him By he is The Jon Fox of the NBA
Should have fired him last year