The drama that instigated Jimmy Butler's exit from the Minnesota Timberwolves was ultimately a mix of factors, but while some reports claim his only reason for seeking a trade is the contractual aspect of it, there have been other rumblings. Namely, his rumored rift with younger players like Karl-Anthony Towns, which led to only one assist in crunch time in the span of six months.
A deep dive into the situation by Bleacher Report's Tom Haberstroh revealed that the dysfunction between Butler and Towns was that much more evident on the court when rewinding the tape. Haberstroh noted that Butler only assisted on one Towns basket in the clutch from November to April, a pick-and-roll play against the Brooklyn Nets in early January.
Haberstroh described the play and then illustrated how Butler's former Chicago Bulls teammate, Taj Gibson, had been a recipient of more clutch assists, despite playing less minutes and having less of an offensive role with the team.
Why is this play notable?
Because over the six-month span from November to April, that was the only Towns basket Butler assisted during clutch situations (a game within five points in the final five minutes). If that isn't surprising enough, consider that over the same six-month span, Butler assisted a role player—former Bulls teammate Taj Gibson—three times in clutch moments.
Gibson's scoring average last season was about half of Towns'. But during crunch time, it seemed as though Butler trusted his longtime teammate far more.
While Towns did the most to carry the Timberwolves to a playoff seed after Butler suffered a meniscus injury, he suddenly disappeared for the first two games of the playoffs, getting only nine shot attempts in Games 1 and 2 against the Houston Rockets.
And while KAT was held to single digits in both games, Butler didn't particularly shine either, tallying only 13 and 11 points in the first two games of the series.
Why did Towns have such a diminished role in crunch time? You could point to his young age—he turned 22 years old last November—as a reason. You could point to Butler's ability as a closer, which likely motivated Thibodeau to bring him to Minnesota in the first place. Bigs generally have a tougher time getting the rock in critical moments, and it seems as though Towns has a tougher time than most. After Towns scored only eight points in his playoff debut against the Rockets, Thibodeau told reporters that he had ‘to be more active.'
Towns' poor rapport with Butler surely had an effect as well, as these are often the problems that arise on teams that fall well short of their goal.
While Butler's unhappiness in Minnesota could be traced back to monetary factors, there are plenty of other ulterior motives that spelled the end of his short-lived tenure in the Twin Cities, and his relationship with Towns is likely one of them.
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