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Andrew Wiggins has 148 million reasons to perform like an All-Star player, yet he's fallen well-shy of that progression ever since finishing his third year in the league. According to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks, sources have confirmed the five-year, $147.7 million deal Wiggins signed in Oct. 11, 2017, was among the things that irked star forward Jimmy Butler, along with the acquisitions of point guard Jeff Teague and former teammate Taj Gibson — leaving no room for him to sign a long-term contract at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Beyond seeing Wiggins as non-deserving of that deal due to his poor production and an estimated lack of desire to win games, Butler was hoping to net a long-term contract as he headed into his eighth season in the league. The timing here is very specific, considering his trade request came only days before the start of the regular season, despite Wiggins agreeing to the extension months before.
Butler wasn't eligible to be traded until December after being part of a draft day package from the Chicago Bulls, so he likely decided to play the entire season out and thread the best strategy moving forward. The impending signing of Karl-Anthony Towns to an even heftier extension was looming, making his window to a lucrative contract all the more narrow.
The Timberwolves wasted no time inking Towns to a five-year, $190 million supermax extension of his rookie contract on Sept. 22, 2018, leaving no room at all for Butler's payday. Shortly after, the All-Star started to have conversations with then head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau, who consequently tried to play the long game in efforts to cure Butler's unhappiness.
Initial reports of Butler's unhappiness quickly pointed to the fact that he was no longer able to sign a big contract, but those were soon overridden by the practice fiasco that would soon ensue, changing the overall narrative of his exit from the Timberwolves.
