The upcoming meeting between Minnesota Timberwolves leader Tom Thibodeau and superstar swingman Jimmy Butler might just force him to choose between Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns as the team's franchise player.
While neither player has signed an extension this offseason, negotiations in Towns' contract will likely be kept on hold until issues have been ironed out with Butler, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“Karl-Anthony Towns, who is one of the biggest talents in the league has yet to sign his rookie max extension, which should be a no-brainer,” said Charania. “I'm told there will be no decision about that until this Jimmy Butler meeting gets figured out.”
From our own @ShamsCharania, latest on Jimmy Butler seriously contemplating Minnesota future. pic.twitter.com/bi0cV3GXTE
— Stadium (@Stadium) September 17, 2018
The recent signing of Luol Deng is to aid in building the culture Thibodeau has long cherished for this locker room, something he lacked during his first year with the team, as too many young pieces were unable to focus.
“There's a lot of internal battles going on between [Butler], Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, who has a pretty calm demeanor and personality,” said Charania. “Just a lot of butting heads behind the scenes and Tom Thibodeau has been kind of caught in the middle of that.”
This could end up having Thibodeau, who now boasts omnipotent power as president and head coach (an issue that has raised concern within ownership), to choose between a veteran reaching his prime or a slew of promising young talent that has yet to reach professional maturity during their first few years in the league.
Both Towns and Wiggins had to make sacrifices after Butler came into the lineup, but the three reportedly had issues throughout the entire season, with Butler acting as the coach within the court — a trait the two youngsters haven't been fond of.
Meanwhile, Butler has reportedly had issues with the youngsters' work ethic, leading to the possibility that he may want out.
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