It has not been smooth sailing for the Minnesota Timberwolves in Year 2 under head coach Tom Thibodeau. Despite some high-profile additions in the offseason, they are just 14-11 and continue to have problems defensively.

Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns has remained a big offender in terms of the perceived lack of effort on that end of the court and it could potentially be leading to some unrest in the Timberwolves locker room, as The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor revealed in a recent podcast.

“I’ve heard rumblings that there’s some chemistry issues in that locker room, maybe a little bit with guys against Towns a little bit because of his effort, maybe a little bit with some of the guys on that bench unhappy with playing time and opportunity. There’s issues there and it all, in my opinion, from what I can tell, derives from Thibs with the usage, with the system, with the opportunity.”

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Apart from his defensive issues, Towns’ numbers have been down across the board this season. He’s averaging just under 20 points and 11.6 rebounds this season, a significant dip from the 25.1 points and 12.3 rebounds he put up last season.

However, Towns continues to see steady minutes with Thibodeau seemingly unwilling to give other players on his roster a chance to get more playing time. Thibodeau is notorious for playing his stars heavy minutes and other players may be starting to see a double standard with regard to Towns that he doesn’t get reprimanded by Thibs for his lack of effort.

The most logical solution to this locker room issue is for Thibodeau to trust the other members of his team and hold his stars more accountable. However, it remains to be seen if he is actually capable of either.