The Minnesota Timberwolves offered four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler a $110 million contract in July, but he turned it down. Why, you ask? Because he could potentially make as much as $187 million if he becomes a free agent next summer and re-signs with the team. Though some Wolves fans are worried Butler might leave in free agency, head coach Tom Thibodeau believes winning will take care of the situation.

Via Jerry Zgoda of StarTribune:

A month away from training camp’s opening, Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said Monday at the Minnesota State Fair he doesn’t need to assure the team’s nervous fans or his best players that all will be right in a season after which All-Star guard Jimmy Butler can leave as an unrestricted free agent.

“The winning will take care of that,” he said.

The Timberwolves finished the 2017-18 season with a 47-35 regular season record, which earned them a No. 4 spot in the Northwest Division. Some fans of the team felt that there was a lack of unity, but coach Thibs would beg to differ.

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“I respectfully disagree” Thibodeau replied when a fan questioned the unity and culture of a team that won 47 games last season — its first winning season since the Kevin Garnett era — and made the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

There have been several reports throughout the summer indicating that Butler was unhappy with the team, though most of their sources were unnamed. Thibodeau, however, feels Jimmy is the future of the franchise.

“We know the position we’re in,” Thibodeau said. “We have a lot to offer him. We think this is the best place for him, and it’s up to us to show him the reasons why.”

In his 59 appearances with the Timberwolves last season, Butler racked up averages of 22.9 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the field (35.0 percent from beyond the arc), 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.0 steals in 36.7 minutes per outing.