“You f—ing need me. You can’t win without me.”
The now infamous words from Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jimmy Butler directed toward his teammates during a practice last Wednesday. Butler was in the midst of an epic practice rant in which he ripped into his general manager, his head coach and his teammates.
Butler later explained that all his emotions simply came out at once. The feelings built up from his in-season knee injury, his frustration with his teammates, his so-called lack of respect from the organization, his early playoff exit and his trade request that has yet to accumulate to anything, exploded onto the practice gym floor.
The Timberwolves have been actively searching for a trade partner for Butler in the three weeks following his trade request. The problem is, they haven’t found the right suitor.
A common theme has been that the Wolves are asking for far too much in return for Butler. By simply floating the idea of a Ben Simmons-Butler exchange to the 76ers halted all talks between the teams all together. Then once reports surfaced that trade talks with the Miami Heat had soured, Butler returned to practice to unleash his wrath.
The Timberwolves seem to be in a “lose-lose” situation. If they do end up trading Butler, they will be trading one of the best players in the NBA for a return that in all likelihood will be inferior to what they gave up to get Butler in the first place.
However, if they don’t deal the one they call Jimmy Buckets, they will have a player on their roster that has made it well known he wants out. This has the potential to infect the entire Wolves locker room, potentially sending their 2018-19 campaign into despair before it even begins.
As bad as the practice tirade looked for the organization, an interview Butler did with ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols shined some light on why Butler wanted to leave in the first place.
“ … it’s not about the money; it’s not,” Butler stated. “It’s about saying we need you. We want you here. We can’t do this without you.”
What makes the situation so peculiar and tough for the Wolves is that Butler is right. The Wolves were 11 games above .500 and the third seed in the West before Butler went down with his knee injury. Without him, the Wolves registered a losing record and were on the brink of missing the postseason. Butler returned for the final three games and saved the Wolves’ season.
One of the problems, as Butler noted to Nichols, is that he plays harder than anyone on his own team.
“Who’s the most talented player on our team? KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns). Who’s the most God-gifted player on our team? Wigs (Andrew Wiggins) … But, like, who plays the hardest? Me. I play hard. I play really hard.”
It is easy to see why a player such as Butler, a veteran All-Star that is busy trying to win a ring in a league where the Warriors and LeBron James have reigned supreme for the last eight years, does not want to wait for these young players to turn the corner. Butler figures by the time that happens, he may be too old to make a significant contribution to a team.
A new wrinkle in what is becoming the story of the NBA offseason (outside of the free agency destination of the aforementioned King James) was added Thursday when the Wolves cancelled practice, just a day after Butler’s now famed practice outburst.
Reports came out that a players only meeting between Butler and the rest of his teammates followed the cancelled practice. Timberwolves point guard Jeff Teague disputed reports, suggesting that the meeting was not “players only,” but nonetheless a meeting did take place.
Butler communicated with the team that he would compete with them. This is quite the turn of events considering that just a week ago all hope seemed lost that Butler would ever play another minute in a Wolves uniform again. Whether he plays or not, this tale of trade requests and legendary practice rants will end one of three ways.
The first is Butler plays out the 2018-19 season with the Wolves. This could mean that Butler and the Wolves are back to where they started the next offseason. Or, it could mean that the relationship between them has a chance to be healed, and Butler resigns with the Wolves after the season.
The second and third options are similar, but a key difference is time. The Wolves seem primed to try and ship Butler out, so the question becomes if they can get a deal done before Wednesday’s season opener against San Antonio.
A move before seems unlikely, but the Heat appear to be heading into the weekend looking for a deal. If this falls apart, then it becomes more likely that Butler gets moved midseason.
The NBA’s trade deadline is Feb. 7, so that is plenty of time for a team to come forward. This will be out of need, or a team feels close and thinks Butler is the missing piece of the championship puzzle.
When asked if the situation between him and the Timberwolves was fixable, Butler answered with honesty. “It could be. But do I think so? No.” The story of Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves is far from over. However, the unhappy marriage is headed toward a messy divorce.