I know that none of you are going to cry for me when you read this, but writing a sports column can be difficult. You crawl out on a limb, and not only can that limb break (leading to a nasty fall) but your words live on as a testament to the wisdom, or the folly, that caused you to climb out on that branch in the first place.
Like many of you (and this apparently includes the management group of the Minnesota Timberwolves) I have been thinking a lot about Jimmy Butler lately. Problem is, the more I think about 'Jimmy Buckets' the less sure I am about this quandary, or maybe better, this quagmire that Butler and the Wolves now find themselves in.
Back in April I wrote a column titled 'The Butler Can do it' where I praised both Butler and the T-Wolves for pulling-off the deal that brought him here. In it I write “at the time of this writing, almost ten months removed from that transaction, I’m going to weigh-in and say, that no matter what transpires over the next 72-hours, meaning, whether or not the Timberwolves make the playoffs, I would make that trade again.”
Can I have a do-over, please?
Butler was brought here because he supposedly had a great relationship with T-Wolves Head Coach Tom Thibodeau. That’s the way it looked last season when Butler lambasted his teammates for failing to play defense, something that was supposed to be a staple of Thibodeau teams. "We've got to have that will to want to guard," Butler said at the time. "To tell you the truth, we haven't done it all year. We've had stretches where it's looked solid, then you go back to what you've been seeing. All in all, we've just got to want to play defense."
Thibodeau, as Butler said, "Don't got too much to do with that."
In a day where athletes get paid huge sums of money that most of us can’t even fathom, Butler’s words were welcome. Finally, the Wolves had a player who not only gave 100% on the job, but was also willing to take responsibility and a leadership role.
What wasn't to like?
Butler’s words didn’t only play well with the public, it hit home with Wolves management. That kind of refreshing honesty, and the fact that he had averaged more than 22-points a game while playing hard on both ends of the floor inspired the Wolves to offer Butler a max extension in the range of $110 million over four years.
As we all know by now, Butler said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Seriously, why would he take it when after this season he can command a 5-year deal that 'could' command $190 million-dollar deal. That makes sense, right?
Here’s where it all gets murky. Either Butler asked (or demanded) the T-Wolves trade him at that point, or maybe it was the Wolves who promised Butler that they would trade him before the start of the season. Nobody’s being real clear on that one. What we do know is that Butler wanted and EXPECTED the Timberwolves to trade him to a select list of teams before the start of this season... and it did not happen.
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Oh wait... we actually DON'T know any of that, not anymore. Not after Butlers recent shenanigans.
'Jimmy Buckets', last season’s model of decorum and basketball consistency, has morphed into 'Jimmy Nonsense', separating himself from the team and then returning, where he may... or may not have berated or maybe even praised his teammates.
Who knows?
We’re pretty sure (according to people who claim to have been at practice) he screamed an obscenity at Wolves GM Scott Layden. What’s that? That didn’t happen either? Oh, it MAY have happened?
Again, we just don’t know.
And why would we? We’re not on the team, not in the locker room, not part of the coaching staff or the management. And speaking of the Wolves management team, they look like the real losers in this, in more ways than one.Not only is the club failing to offer any sort of clarity in this mayhem, they’ve been either unwilling, or worse yet, unable to offer even the least palatable explanation as to what happens next
Seriously... it looks like there’s nobody who can get to the bottom of this mess. Unless that one man is the remarkable Sid Hartman, and his boss just happens to own both the Timberwolves and Sid’s newspaper, the Star-Tribune.
In an exclusive, Hartman quoted Taylor ( in a wide-ranging interview) as saying “he has reached an understanding with four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and will continue trying to trade him.” Hartman goes on to quote Taylor as saying as far as he can tell, "there is no chance that Butler remains a Timberwolves player after this season."
"That is not part of the plan, but as you know things can change,” Taylor told Hartman. “But that is not what we have agreed to.”
Jimmy Butler will be in uniform when the Wolves tip-off the season in San Antonio Wednesday night, but for how much longer nobody knows.
Nobody except Sid, probably.
As far as that trade that brought Butler here for one honeymoon season, would I do it again? Ask me after the next deal, the one that sends him to his next destination.
From where I’m sitting, that limb looks a little shaky.