After a two-month nightmare scenario recently came to a close, Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor believes head coach Tom Thibodeau “wasted some time” hoping to convince Jimmy Butler to stay, according to Jace Frederick of The Pioneer Press.
The Timberwolves reportedly had interest from half of the league when news of Butler's trade request went public, but Thibodeau turned them all down, instead saying the team intended to keep its four-time All-Star in the roster.
Yet Taylor credited Thibodeau for doing everything in his power to get on top of the situation and get the best return for the franchise, as the Timberwolves received Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Butler and Justin Patton.
The move erased any footprints of the deal made on draft night of 2017, when Thibodeau traded Zach LaVine (coming off ACL surgery) and Kris Dunn while swapping picks with the Chicago Bulls, all in return for Butler.
Minnesota had far more offers to play with when the trade request was fresh, but was limited to only three offers down the stretch (Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans and Sixers) after tiring several executives with an ambitious see-saw approach that ultimately had them pull out of negotiations.
The Timberwolves could have had Miami Heat forward Josh Richardson if they pulled the trigger earlier, but Thibodeau and co. turned their best deal down, eventually causing them to retract their offer.
Hindsight, as usual, is always undefeated.
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