Jimmy Butler and the Timberwolves are in a weird place.
The four-time All-Star wants a trade out of Minnesota as soon as possible. Timberwolves president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau isn't interested in making a bad deal just to move Butler off the roster. And despite interest from several teams, the asking price for Butler is still too high, leaving both sides stuck in trade request purgatory.
MORE: Butler has about 50 million reasons to want trade right now
But there could be a bigger game going on here. Butler isn't convinced the Timberwolves are making a real effort to deal him to another team, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.
"According to league sources, Butler and his representatives are increasingly frustrated with Minnesota’s handling of trade talks and seriously question whether the Timberwolves — from longtime owner Glen Taylor on down — are truly trying to find a deal.
"All across the NBA, with more than half the league having shown varying levels of interest in landing the four-time All-Star, the feedback coming Butler’s way remains the same: Minnesota’s asking price is far too high, inter-team communication is sometimes an exercise in futility, and the counter-offers that the Timberwolves have provided are, as Butler’s side sees it, downright delusional."
This goes back to the poor communication within Minnesota's front office. Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden prefer to keep Butler, but Taylor is pushing for an immediate trade. When key members of the organization don't agree on the same plan of action, well, it looks like this...
Thibodeau’s general manager, Scott Layden, had been shutting down trade inquires for Butler in recent days, and Taylor has demanded that Layden not only take calls on potential deals, but reach out to initiate conversations, league sources said. This is all really...unique. https://t.co/RwoI9RSvGz
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 23, 2018
Yeah, that's awkward.
This situation will only become more uncomfortable as the Timberwolves inch closer toward the regular season. Butler is still under contract, so he should be playing unless Thibodeau and Layden are close to finalizing a deal with another team.
And yet, Butler is not currently with the Timberwolves. He doesn't seem to be in a rush to wear his old jersey, either. This whole process is getting uglier by the day, and the only realistic solution appears to be trading Butler and moving forward with Karl-Anthony Towns as the franchise player.
Now, Butler is left to wonder whether the Timberwolves are even searching for a workable trade — as if this whole thing wasn't weird enough already.
