Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves are falling apart as quickly as they came together

The Minnesota Timberwolves are falling apart as quickly as they came together

It’s all unraveling for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Timberwolves wing Jimmy Butler has requested to be traded. Whether such a transaction will transpire is not yet known. But, at the end of the day, it appears Butler’s days in Minnesota are numbered, and in this development, the Timberwolves once promising future is coming to a jarring halt.

The Timberwolves are one of the more gifted teams, in terms of raw talent, in the NBA. Butler is one of the best two-way players in the league and arguably a top-20 player. All-star center Karl-Anthony Towns is a two-way force and one of, if not the best player at his respective position. Albeit they’re underwhelming defenders, point guard Jeff Teague and swingman Andrew Wiggins are capable and proven scorers.

Taj Gibson is a gritty, two-way big man. While the jury is still out on the impact he can still have on a contending team, Derrick Rose is capable of serving as a reliable source of offense off the bench. Luol Deng, who the Timberwolves signed last week, can provide the Timberwolves with a sound defender and someone who can get to the rim off the dribble.

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The biggest knock on the construction of this roster is how it eerily resembles a team once coached by current president and head coach Tom Thibodeau. Butler, Gibson, Rose, and Deng all played together under Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls. In his time as president and head coach of the Timberwolves, Thibodeau has essentially been remaking his old Bulls team.

What’s next? Is he going to attempt to convince Carlos Boozer to come out of retirement? Will he wait for the New York Knicks to potentially use the stretch provision on Joakim Noah?

Last offseason, Thibodeau acquired Butler in a draft-night stunner and traded Ricky Rubio to pave the way for the signing of Teague and later Gibson; it was all about winning in the present.

The Timberwolves had their fair share of ups and down, but they ultimately cracked the eighth seed in the Western Conference last season. Yes, they lost in five games to the top-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, but the Timberwolves, for the most part, competed and showed that they could potentially be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

So, why does Butler want to leave Minnesota? The cold weather? Likely not, given that he played the first six years of his career in Chicago. Thibodeau’s relentless coaching? If so, it wouldn’t be the first time Thibodeau overworked Butler. Back in the 2013 playoffs, he gave Butler zero minutes of rest in three consecutive games and played him 48 minutes in five of their 12 playoff games that season. Thibodeau pushing Butler is a vital reason why he’s the defender and player he is today.

But, at some point, overworking your players can take its toll on them both physically and mentally. Butler appears to have had enough in both ways. And in general, Thibodeau is known for overworking, or at least giving his starters little to no rest .

Now, Butler wanting out of Minnesota doesn’t mean he’s totally innocent. He supposedly had issues playing alongside Rose in Chicago and eventually wanted out of the Windy City. He got his wish. In his first season with the Timberwolves, Butler supposedly took offense to some players’ work ethic, the youngsters in particular. It has always been someone else’s fault. Perhaps Butler is the one to blame for once?

Regardless of whose fault it is, Thibodeau, Butler, and the Timberwolves, as a whole, warrant blame for the confusion that surrounds this franchise. There’s no one clear answer.

All the work the Timberwolves did last offseason and the work done before Thibodeau arrived, such as putting themselves in position to draft Wiggins and Towns, is about to go down the drain. Butler is likely either going to be traded, or leave the Timberwolves in free agency in the summer. And working under the mindset that one of those two scenarios comes to fruition, Butler could have a domino effect on the Timberwolves roster.

Towns hits the open market as a restricted free agent after this season. Perhaps he will want to go elsewhere, or accept a qualifying offer to be an unrestricted free agent the ensuing offseason. Maybe Teague and/or Wiggins ask for a trade? Will Thibodeau be stripped of his presidential duties, or, on an even bolder note, his head-coaching duties?

There is no denying that Thibodeau wants to contend right now; he wants no part of a rebuild. In fact, it was reported that he has “zero interest” in trading Butler – which isn’t surprising. The Timberwolves aren’t paying him $10 million a year to run and coach a rebuilding team. With that said, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi reported on Friday night that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has sent a message that Butler is available via trade.

With Towns, Wiggins, and Thibodeau in place, many felt it was only a matter of time before the Timberwolves turned the corner and began to compete for the playoffs. Then, they jumpstarted the rebuild by bringing in Butler, Teague, and Gibson. All of a sudden, they looked like a team who could legitimately compete with other powerhouse teams out West; they had a talented mix of proven commodities and young talent. Going from 31 to 47 wins and making the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season proved just how impactful their offseason additions were.

Butler is one of the best wings and players in the NBA. He can play in isolation, get to the rim, and is a well-rounded defender. Averaging at, or over, 20.0 points per game in each of the last four seasons, he’s been a reliable go-to scorer on both a contending and rebuilding team. He’s also been on the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team in four of the last five seasons.

Trading or losing the 29-year-old wing will terminate any chance the Timberwolves have of going on a deep playoff run in the near-future. But sometimes you have to bite the bullet. You never want to have a star, or any player for that matter, on your team when they possess a desire to be elsewhere and/or are likely to leave once they hit the open market.

The Timberwolves’ efforts to contend in the immediate future is going in a way that was not foreseen. Butler was reunited with his old coach and Towns was growing into a superstar. What could’ve gone wrong? Now, it appears as if this season will be the duo’s last hurrah – if Butler is even with the team on Opening Night.

One year ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the most intriguing and promising teams in the NBA. Today, they’re a team whose present and future is in doubt.

The Timberwolves are falling apart as quickly as they came together.