Minnesota Timberwolves head coach/team president Tom Thibodeau has a “tenuous” status with owner Glen Taylor, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. This report comes as part of the news that star Jimmy Butler has requested a trade.
Wojnarowski reported last week that Taylor has “significant concern” over the culture created under Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden. Taylor’s concerns run so deep that he reportedly contemplated making organizational changes during the offseason.
Taylor reportedly has “second-guessed” his decision recently to grant Thibodeau the authority to control basketball operations, along with being the head coach.
It hasn't been a quiet summer in Minnesota. There were rumblings of a disconnect between Karl-Anthony Towns and the franchise soon after last season ended. The Timberwolves parted ways with player development coach Vince Legarza this summer. Legarza was very close with Towns, and the big man still has not yet signed his max contract extension.
Later in June, reports surfaced that Butler was uncertain about playing with Andrew Wiggins and had issues with Wiggins' work ethic and approach on defense. Then in July, another report claimed Butler was fed up with the nonchalant attitude of Towns.
Now, there's the news that broke Wednesday that the four-time All-Star has requested a trade. Just a brutal offseason for the Timberwolves, who made the playoffs last year for the first time in 14 years.
Thibodeau is reportedly resistant to trading Butler as of now. Thibodeau, who won Coach of the Year with the Chicago Bulls in 2011, was hired by the Timberwolves in 2016, and there was optimism within the franchise he could turn the organization into a winner.
Even though the team made the playoffs in 2018 in the rugged Western Conference, things behind the scenes haven't been pretty at all.
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