Rumors are circulating that the Minnesota Timberwolves are bluffing. Adrian Wojnarowski said on the most recent episode of his podcast, The Woj Pod, that no teams or executives believed the Timberwolves when they claimed that they have received favorable trade offers for superstar forward Jimmy Butler.
“I know Minnesota was telling teams last week, ‘We’ve got an offer we really, really like. We’ve got an offer we’d do.’ Nobody believed them. Like, nobody believed them. And part of the problem for that Minnesota front office is, one GM/executive said to me, ‘In normal circumstances, they’re the most difficult in the league to deal with. In normal circumstances, they’re usually very unrealistic about what they can get back from you in a deal. Under these circumstances? They’re exponentially more difficult to deal with.’ And I wonder how that cat-and-mouse game plays out when you’re trying to create a marketplace for a player.”
With so much dysfunction currently happening within the franchise, executives seem to have soured on the Timberwolves. The whole situation has been a mess ever since Butler requested for a trade a few weeks back.
President and coach Tom Thibodeau was initially reluctant to trade his All-Star forward, but owner Glen Taylor was adamant to get a deal for Butler done immediately. Moreover, executives were reportedly confused as to who they need to talk with in terms of discussing a deal for Butler.
The sweepstakes for Butler began last week, and teams have started to contact the Timberwolves in the hopes of landing the two-way star. However, no deal has fell through as the Timberwolves front office is apparently excruciatingly difficult to discuss with.
Teams certainly took an interest in Butler following his trade request, but Minnesota's asking price for the disgruntled forward is apparently too demanding. One of the rumors that surfaced this past week is that the Timberwolves reportedly counter-offered the Philadelphia 76ers' trade offer for Butler by asking for Ben Simmons, which is absolutely absurd.
Butler currently has one year left on his deal and is nearing the age of 30, so the market for him might be lower than what the Wolves are expecting.
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