Timberbulls, Thibs and a Trade?

Timberbulls, Thibs and a Trade?

September 20th, 2018

Almost nobody has been more strangled as an NBA fan base than Minnesota Timberwolves fans. Minnesota has not had a 50 win season since 2004 and recently ended a 13 year playoff drought this past season, only to be dominated in the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Rockets. Just when Minnesota fans thought their rebuild blossomed into something dynasty worthy, it is all put to a standstill in light of a recent trade demand.

Over the 2017-2018 NBA regular season, we saw an underlying issue in Minnesota and it was their chemistry. From the eye test alone you could certainly see a clash among their newly acquired All-Star in G Jimmy Butler and both C Karl Anthony-Towns and F Andrew Wiggins.

For the Towns and Butler rift specifically, the issue looked to be ball distribution in the clutch. For big men in the NBA that averaged over 20 points per game, Towns ranked 7th in a usage rating of 22.9. Interestingly enough, in clutch situations Towns’ usage rate dropped to a 15.1 rating. After looking at that statistic alone, I can see how tension could rise between the two especially given Towns’ ability.

The entire season was filled with insider reports and we got the impression that there were serious locker room issues in the Twin Cities. When Minnesota offered Butler an extension that was $30 million short of what he wanted he elected to go the route of demanding a trade from the Timberwolves.

Recently, Butler has informed Head Coach and President of Operations, Tom Thibodeau, that he prefers to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks or New York Nets but strongly prefers the Clippers.

This leaves the Timberwolves in a tough spot. Initially, it could have been one of those things where you still try to work on the chemistry and give Butler a deal to his liking but not with the recent issues on social media.

NBA fans got to have a field day when Nick Wiggins, Andrew Wiggins brother, began a virtual rift with both Stephen Jackson and Jimmy Butler taking jabs at Andrew Wiggins. I can imagine Timberwolves owner, Glen Taylor, and Thibs are both very distraught with these recent developments.

At this point I do not think you risk any more locker room issues and you have to deal Butler. If I were the Wolves, I would rather deal Wiggins first but if that does not entice him, you have to move on. A potential trade almost puts me in a position to feel sorry for Tobias Harris if the Wolves deal Butler to the Clippers because would be his third team in two years. I can not imagine the Nets having the assets to get Butler or the Knicks being willing to give up a lot to get him. Wolves fans just have to hope that they get a lot in return.

Ultimately, this all stems from Coach Thibs’ demeanor and coaching. Now of course we know that Thibs is an established coach and he was on the staff with Doc Rivers when their Celtics made their championship run. However, the Wolves gave him too much power in the franchise and is making an attempt to recreate his old Chicago Bulls team by adding Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and trading for Jimmy Butler for what looked like a cornerstone of Minnesota in Zach LaVine.

In addition to the creation in the Timberbulls, Thibs’ plays his starters to the ground and did not let bench players make a big impact and did not give last year’s first round draft pick, Justin Patton, establish himself or work his way into the rotation. Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns all averaged around 36 minutes per game and Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague were not far behind.

On top of that he seems to have no control over the locker room and reports have come out about Wiggins’ frustration with the new coach and his role within his system. As long as Thibs is an employee with the Wolves’ organization, Minnesota’s franchise will deteriorate and the team the spent over ten years building will unravel.  

Overall, the Wolves definitely dropped the ball on not giving Butler, a top 20 NBA player, the extension he deserves and by giving Thibs too much say in the organization. Also, everyone in Minnesota should be worried about Towns’ interest in signing an extension moving forward after witnessing all of this dysfunction.