Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says the Jimmy Butler trade request caught him and the team completely off guard.
Butler requested a trade from the team almost seven weeks ago, but reportedly told head coach/president Tom Thibodeau he wanted out a few days after the Timberwolves were eliminated in the first round of the 2018 playoffs by the Houston Rockets.
Glen Taylor spoke about the effect Jimmy Butler's trade request has had on the players and organization with Darren Wolfson on ESPN 1500 Minnesota:
“I feel a little sad for the players. We had gone all summer with what we thought we had as a team and who was going to be on it and how we would play it and high expectations. Jimmy's announcement caught us all off guard.”
The Timberwolves made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years last season. It was Jimmy Butler's first year with the team. The four-time All-Star had a great regular season, as Butler averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc.
After the season ended, multiple reports started to surface claiming Butler had issues with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. Then Butler turned down the Timberwolves’ four-year, $110 million extension offer. It's been a huge saga ever since then and it's clearly affecting the team on a daily basis.
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