The NBA season is almost upon us and there is still one question that really needs to be answered, what are the Timberwolves going to do with Jimmy Butler? Butler has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be with the team and in his sit down with Rachael Nichols of ESPN he made it clear he doesn’t think it can be fixed.
It could be. It could be. But do I think so? No. Because you got to be honest. I’m being honest. Do I think so? No. I’m being honest with you. But is everybody gonna be honest? No. No, everybody’s not gonna be honest
With Butler wanting out, and it the young Wolves looking lost on the court with all the distractions off of it, it’s clear that the only option here is moving on from Butler.
Early last season it looked like Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins were forming quite a trio that could be together for a long time. Somewhere along the line, Butler got frustrated with their work ethic and it was the beginning of the end for the harmony between the guys. The first real sign of trouble on the outside was when Butler flew to Los Angeles instead of back to Minneapolis with the team after being eliminated by Houston in the playoffs last year.
Butler skipped his exit physical and interview but according to him told Coach Thibs pretty soon after the season ended that he wanted out. Instead of the Wolves making a trade then Thibs thought he could repair things and kept it under the table, which has led to the situation now.
Now the Wolves have no other options but to trade him, even if they don’t get a lot in return. If Butler was to suit up with the team this year, there would be a lot of tension and the play probably wouldn’t be good. It’s also clear that the locker room doesn’t have a good relationship and it’s toxic with Butler around the team.
Butler is an emotional guy but that isn’t what the young guys need right now. If the Wolves don’t trade him and somehow everyone makes it through the season alive, that means Butler is going to walk in free agency this offseason. Even though the Wolves can offer Butler the most money, it’s clear Butler doesn’t care about the extra cash flow, he wants to be in a place he feels appreciated.
Now maybe the Wolves could wait until the trade deadline to make the trade, but Butler’s camp has made it clear that he wants out now, and having Kat, Wiggins, and Butler on the court together would be devastating for the team’s chances to make the playoffs.
Towns is also clearly the face of this franchise, not Butler and the last thing the Wolves want to do is burn that bridge too. Butler is clearly unhappy but the only thing that could make this worse they made Towns so mad he also requested a trade.
