The Jimmy Butler saga may be over for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the franchise still has to deal with the fallout. Part of that includes what Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor will do about president/head coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden.
Thibodeau and Layden appear to be on a short leash, as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports Taylor “has continued to consider possibilities to eventually replace both of them.” Woj even notes Taylor's consideration of firing the duo before the Butler situation hit the fan.
While it doesn't seem like anything is imminent right now, the Timberwolves will likely have to turn things around quickly if Thibs and Layden are going to save their jobs. Taylor put a lot of faith in the former Chicago Bulls coach by giving him a dual role, but how this situation with Butler played out was a tough look for the organization.
Thibs pulled the trigger to get Butler from the Bulls during the 2017 NBA Draft, giving up Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the draft rights to Lauri Markkanen in the process. The Timberwolves got Justin Patton with the No. 16 pick they got along with Butler, but now Patton is joining Butler in the deal to the Philadelphia 76ers after making zero impact due to injuries.
Getting Robert Covington and Dario Saric isn't a bad return, but it looks rough when stacking it up with what went to Chicago. It's made even worse considering all the drama that surrounded the situation and the poor 4-9 start this season. All of the good will from breaking the NBA's longest playoff drought is gone, and it seems like it would take a miracle turnaround for this regime to get it back.
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