Minnesota Timberwolves head coach/president Tom Thibodeau wants no part of Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside in a potential Jimmy Butler trade, according to Chris Sheridan of Get More Sports. Gorgui Dieng would also likely be involved in any type of deal like that.
The Heat are aggressively pursuing a Butler trade, and the four-time All-Star reportedly prefers to play in South Beach. Butler has requested a trade from the Timberwolves and is away from the team at the moment.
Miami tried to trade Whiteside all offseason, but they weren't able to find a market for the mercurial center. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported all summer that several prominent members of the Heat want to move on from Whiteside, but the franchise understands his trade value is heavily diminished and won’t move him for clutter.
Whiteside totaled just 26 points, 30 rebounds and six blocks in the five-game playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers last season. He was very vocal about his lack of playing time in the postseason and how head coach Erik Spoelstra did not use him properly when he was on the floor.
Whiteside, 29, is owed $24.4 million and $27.1 million in the final two years of his contract, and he isn't a good fit next to Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Minnesota doesn't have good floor spacing as it is, and adding Whiteside to the roster would make things even worse.
In his first season with the Timberwolves last year, Butler averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. The 29-year-old swingman reportedly clashed with Towns and small forward Andrew Wiggins multiple times during the regular season and doesn't want to play with the two youngsters anymore.
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