It is no secret that all is not well with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady feels the drama with shooting guard Jimmy Butler has taken a toll on center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns made headlines for his woeful display versus the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. McGrady said on ESPN's The Jump that the young star's confidence has seemingly taken a hit:
Article Continues Below“I have to say the Jimmy Butler saga has affected this man. This is so uncharacteristic of this type of player,” McGrady said. ” I've never seen this as long as I've been around this game. Somebody that skilled just bowed out.”
While it may be far too early in the 2018-19 NBA season to press the panic button, Towns' performance versus the Raptors certainly indicated as much. His abysmal outing was highlighted by his desire to leave the game following an airball on an open three-point attempt in the third quarter. His demeanor throughout the night was hardly that of a budding NBA superstar.
Of course, it is easy to pin all of Minnesota's struggles on what has transpired with Butler. Both Towns and small forward Andrew Wiggins have seemingly taken a backseat to the veteran's boisterous antics. However, there is no denying that they each still have much to prove before solidifying the notion that this team is better off with just them leading the way. The Butler drama will continue to be the scapegoat until the Timberwolves either trade him or start winning. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds throughout the season.