The Jimmy Butler era is over in Minnesota.

After an eventful year and a half, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers made a deal to send Butler to Philadelphia. In return for Butler and 7-footer Justin Patton, the Timberwolves received Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick.

It appears Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau and the rest of the Minnesota ownership opted for proven players instead of draft picks. When looking at the mess that was the relationship between Butler and the T-Wolves, this trade makes sense.

However, this trade doesn’t mean the drama is over, as the writing is on the wall for Thibodeau. He was an experienced and respected coach around the league when the Wolves brought him in. He was supposed to help the team turn the corner. That has not happened.

The growth of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins has been noticeably stunted since Thibodeau came in. The Jimmy Butler experiment clearly failed, and at least some blame falls on the shoulders of the head coach. There are whispers that Thibodeau’s job is in serious jeopardy, so why wouldn’t he bring in guys who could contribute immediately?

If Thibodeau had pulled the trigger on a trade that included multiple future draft picks, there’s a serious possibility he wouldn’t have been around to make those picks. Make no mistake about it, Thibodeau is trying to win now to try and gain back the trust of Minnesota ownership.

Getting established NBA players instead of draft picks makes this much easier. However, just because this was the best deal for Thibodeau does not mean it was the best deal for the T-Wolves.

There were reports the Wolves had extensive trade talks with multiple teams. The Pelicans and Heat were two squads looking to snag Butler. The Pelicans offered power forward Nikola Mirotic and a first-round pick. Mirotic would have been a nice addition for the Wolves.

However, trade talks between the Pelicans and Wolves came to a halt when the Wolves asked for point guard Jrue Holiday. The Heat offered Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow and a draft pick for Butler.

This is a deal that would have been fine for the Wolves but didn’t work in Thibodeau’s win-now thinking. The Rockets had perhaps the most intriguing offers of them all.

According to reports, in one deal, the Rockets had Nenê, Eric Gordon and two first-round picks on the table.

In a separate deal, the Rockets were offering Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and four first-round picks for Butler. This is the deal that may be most puzzling for Wolves fans. Four first-round picks is a good haul in any deal, especially when comparing them to what the Wolves actually ended up with.

All this does is further confirm that Thibodeau is on thin ice. That deal very well could have been done if Thibodeau thought he would be around to make those picks.

Time will tell if the Wolves made the right choice. Fans and teams from around the league will have a front row seat to see if the Wolves have any fight with their backs against the wall. Every game matters when there are jobs and careers on the line.