Jimmy Butler and Wolves owner Glen Taylor agree to play nice because they have no other choice
- Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler requested a trade from the team in mid-September and expressed interest in landing with the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, or Los Angeles Clippers.
- With regular-season NBA games less than a week away and Minnesota's front office far from securing a deal, Butler reported to practice Wednesday for the first time since requesting the trade.
- The four-time All-Star lashed out at teammates, coaches, and executives during the workout, prompting Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to meet with his wayward star before Sunday's practice.
- According to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, Taylor promised to work hard to find a trade to deal his star wing while Butler agreed to play hard and respect his teammates in the interim.
Less than a week after launching into a full-blown tirade at his first practice since requesting a trade in mid-September, four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler reached an agreement with Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor that will allow both parties to start the regular season on decent terms.
According to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, Taylor promised to work hard to find a trade to deal his star wing. For his part, Butler agreed to play hard and respect his Timberwolves teammates in the interim.
"They want me to go out here and hoop to the best of my abilities," Butler said Sunday. "Make sure I'm healthy. Compete, 'cause that's what I love to do. Go up against the best, 'cause that's what I love to do. And do it for the guys that's in the same jerseys as me."
With just two games until Minnesota's regular-season opener against the San Antonio Spurs, Taylor and his wayward star have little choice in the matter. Butler has been clear from the beginning that he would not miss any regular-season games - or forfeit any regular-season salary checks - to force a trade, while Taylor has been willing to honor his request and negotiate a trade since the very beginning of this saga.
Head coach and Timberwolves president Tom Thibodeau, on the other hand, tried desperately to convince Butler to stay in Minnesota, reportedly going so far as to obstruct possible trade offers with rival franchises.
Butler initially listed the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets as his preferred landing spots, but the Miami Heat emerged as an early favorite to acquire the former Marquette standout. Their front office was "aggressive" in pursuing the star forward and offered multiple intriguing players in return, but Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden overplayed their hand by demanding too many assets in exchange for Butler, who will become a free agent next season and could very well walk away from whichever team he is traded to.
Thibodeau and Layden were both targets of Butler's attacks at Wednesday's practice. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Butler teamed up with third-string players to embarrass the starters and badmouth teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins before turning to Layden and screaming "You f---ing need me. You can't win without me."
Butler brushed off the outburst in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols. He framed his rant as "brutally honest" but apologized "if he went about it the wrong way." But according to Krawczynski, Butler had a different attitude about the situation after practice Sunday.
"I don't regret nothing. Anything. Zero," Butler said. "I should have left out the cuss words. That's it."
Wiggins didn't appear to have hard feelings over the affair. The first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft told Krawczynski, "All I know is when we start playing the real games, Jimmy is someone you want on your team."