At the NBA’s Board of Governors meetings Friday, Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said small forward Jimmy Butler is available in trade talks, and that rival teams should call him directly if they want to discuss a potential trade.
Butler has requested a trade from the Timberwolves, but head coach/president Tom Thibodeau has been resistant to taking trade calls and doesn't want to move the All-Star swingman.
Taylor, obviously, is not on the same page with Thibodeau. Taylor doesn't want to have a player on his roster who is disgruntled. There have also been reports that Butler could decide not to report to training camp if the Timberwolves don't move him.
Story filed to ESPN: As Minnesota’s front office tells inquiring rivals that team has no plans to trade Jimmy Butler, owner Glen Taylor had a different message at NBA’s Board of Governors meetings: Butler is available and owners/GM’s should contact Taylor himself if necessary.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 21, 2018
Taylor and Thibodeau's relationship is not good right now. Taylor has “significant concern” over the culture created under Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden, according to a report from ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski. Taylor’s concerns run so deep that he reportedly contemplated making organizational changes during the offseason and has second guessed his decision to grant Thibodeau the authority to control basketball operations, along with being the head coach.
Butler clashed with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns multiple times this last season, according to Wojnarowski. The four-time All-Star told Thibodeau he will not re-sign with the Timberwolves next summer when he can become an unrestricted free agent if he declines his 2019-20 player option.
“The owner’s trading him,” one Board of Governors attendee told ESPN on Friday. “That was made clear. It’s just a matter of when.”
In his first season with the Timberwolves last year after spending the first six years of his career with the Chicago Bulls, Jimmy Butler averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He shot 47.4 percent overall, 35.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 85.4 percent from the free-throw line.
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