After two months of trying to make a dysfunctional situation work with Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves finally reached their breaking point after an 0-5 road trip, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
A combination of losing, economic concerns and the stress of not knowing from game to game if Butler was going to be available became too much for team officials. The Wolves, who left home with a .500 record but returned at 4-9, were worn down by the pressure that Butler has been applying since making his trade request two months ago.
Sources tell Krawczynski that coach/executive Tom Thibodeau, who had been resisting a trade while trying to convince Butler to stay, informed his coaching staff after the latest loss that a deal had to be made. Owner Glen Taylor stepped in Saturday and finalized the trade with the Sixers.
Minnesota had three offers to consider before pulling the trigger on the package that brought Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for Butler and injured center Justin Patton. Philadelphia made its latest offer on Wednesday, resuming discussions after a disappointing start to the season. The Rockets, who offered four first-round picks, never stopped pursuing Butler, while the Heat remained steadfast in their refusal to include Josh Richardson in any deal.
The schedule also factored into the timing of the Butler deal, Krawczynski adds. Attendance has plummeted as Wolves fans have grown tired of watching their team feud with its star player. The organization has been offering discounted ticket packages, but with 10 of its next 12 games at home, management wanted to resolve the situation to get paying customers back on their side.
There was also concern about the effect that the precedent that was being set for Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and any other young players who will eventually be free agents. Butler has been allowed to set the terms of the dispute without consequence, whether through provocative public statements about teammates and the front office, well-publicized confrontations at his first practice and day-to-day decisions on whether “general soreness” would keep him out of the lineup.
Players had grown tired of answering questions about Butler after every game, Krawczynski reports, and the situation had become too much of a distraction to continue. The Wolves finally decided the cumulative effect of dealing with Butler was too much and sent him away less than 18 months after he arrived.
He’s a team runner
*ruiner
I don’t think that’s fair. According to this site, he requested this trade months ago. Thibs decided to ignore that request, and that was a dumb decision on his part. He’s an experienced coach and a mature adult. Butler is a young guy working his very first job. Butler is not handling himself well, but Thibs should have seen this coming and been smarter.
Considering his iffy trades, Thibs is the team ruiner. And I hate saying that because the guy is a heck of a defensive coach.
I think Elton Brand did a pretty good job here, but I still think he is a yes man
Time will tell.
Although I will tell you, Jimmy Butler is a malcontent, it should be interesting to see if his attitude improves. Just for example Manny Macho was a malcontent for the Orioles and his attitude never really improved with the Dodgers and the proof in the pudding is, Dodger fans were calling Machado out on twitter for lack of hustle
PS For all the draft choices the Sixers had, the only draft choice I approve and quite frankly love is Embiid, he is truly a generational talent if he continues to stay healthy. I still ache that the Sixers could have drafted Jamal Murray and Dennis Smith, Jr. I can only imagine what the Sixers would have been like with those two in the backcourt and running with Embiid!
Dude. Give it a rest already.
Those picks would have been stretches at the time, skipping over Simmons, and Fultz& Ball. A GM would be taking a job-threatening risk doing that, unless he traded down first.
Who surprised everyone and drafted Anthony Bennet #1 for the Cavs?– someone who got fired. And there wasn’t even a clear #1 that year.
How long until we hear about how Embiid doesn’t try hard enough
Should have traded him before the season, wouldn’t have had to deal with any of this!
Yes, How hard would these distractions be to predict?– not hard.
In soccer, internationally, it’s like everyone has a player-option year coming up! Players get requests fulfilled on a regular basis, with some exceptions, such as moving to rival teams or doing it repeatedly. Players can avoid getting jeered by changing nations or even continents.
Depends on the situation. Contract terms are not made public; national laws vary; and there are no salary caps, so the conversations are different.
My point is that everyone there is used to it, but Thibs hung on traditional expectations.
When Irving wanted out with two years left, that did make international news, not sutprisingly. That was unethical & odd, albeit handled in the offseason.