By all metrics, things are going well in Minnesota. For the first time in 14 years, the Timberwolves were in the playoffs, winning 47 games and improving by 16 wins, second-most in the NBA. They pushed their offensive rating from 10th to fourth, and their defensive rating from 26th to 22nd. Coach Tom Thibodeau, after just his second season, ranks third in the franchise’s short history in wins and second in all-time winning percentage (.476).
They did all this despite losing Jimmy Butler — the star guard the Wolves acquired in a trade with the Bulls last summer — for 17 games from late February to early March, the most difficult stretch of Minnesota’s schedule. The Timberwolves managed to hold steady, though, and went 8-9 without him.
Despite that positive arc coming into the offseason, reports out of Minnesota depict a frayed team, its stars lacking a comfortable fit with one another, its most promising young players unsure how they fit with the veterans Thibodeau prefers — especially those who played for him in his first stint in Chicago.
Begin with the rumor that Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the most promising young stars in the league, could be up for a trade. The genesis of that entire thread goes back to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggesting on a podcast that while Pelicans star Anthony Davis won’t be traded, the situation with Towns “might be a different story.”
There was not much to the rumor, and Towns will be up for an extension this summer. It will be a max deal, and there’s virtually no chance that Towns won’t sign it when offered. True, Towns’ defensive lapses have frustrated Thibodeau in the past two years, and neither Towns nor Thibodeau were happy about the relative lack of an impact Towns had in the postseason series against Houston — just 15.2 points on 12.0 shots per game, after averaging 21.3 points on 14.3 shots in the regular season. But Towns is only 22 and simply too talented to be traded.
The situation with the Wolves’ other young star, Andrew Wiggins, is different. He signed a $146.5 million extension last summer, a deal that, at the time, team owner Glen Taylor told KSTP reporter Darren Wolfson would require extra work from Wiggins.
“He can’t be paid just for what he’s doing today,” Taylor said then. “He’s got to be better.”
Wiggins didn’t get better. He regressed. He gave up shot attempts to Butler, but his efficiency dropped, his true shooting percentage going from 54.3 down to 50.5. His player efficiency rating dropped from 16.5 to 13.0. Because 15.0 is considered average, the Wolves last year were giving a max salary to an offensively below-average wing.
That’s where this offseason gets particularly sticky for the Wolves. Not only is Towns up for an extension, but Butler will be entering the final year of his contract and is also eligible for an extension.
Sources familiar with the situation told Sporting News that Butler is uncertain about playing with Wiggins — Butler had problems last season with Wiggins, his work ethic and his approach on the defensive end of the floor. Thibodeau has had similar problems with Wiggins in the past, too, and he had some hope that bringing a tough-minded veteran like Butler into the locker room would spur Wiggins to improve. It didn’t.
The security of a contract extension would be welcome for Butler. But the Wolves are locked into Wiggins for five years, starting next season. If Butler signs on to stay in Minnesota, he could be locking himself into playing with Wiggins for the foreseeable future. That’s risky from Butler’s perspective.
Ideally, the Wolves would find a deal to send Wiggins out of town. But his new five-year contract is just kicking in, making a trade almost impossible, unless Minnesota finds a team with cap space willing to absorb Wiggins, or takes back a contract at least as hefty. And there are few of those floating about.
Another source of friction with the Wolves has been the way that Thibodeau used his bench last season, which has long been a criticism of Thibodeau, carried over from his time in Chicago. He rides his starting unit hard, and all five Wolves starters averaged 33.0 minutes or more. The Wolves had three players — Butler, Wiggins and Towns — in the top 14 in minutes per game last season.
That has left Minnesota with very little internal player development, despite a roster built around youngsters Wiggins and Towns. The team ranked as the seventh-oldest in the league last year. Its first-round pick, Justin Patton, appeared in just one game for the Timberwolves. If Wiggins and Towns address their shortcomings and blossom into elite players in the next few years, who will be there to fill roles around them?
The player who has been most stonewalled by Thibodeau’s preference for veterans — to the frustration of Wolves fans — has been backup point guard Tyus Jones, who is just 21 years old and played all 82 games last year. But his minutes fluctuated, his playing time sapped by the presence of Jamal Crawford (age 37) and midseason signee Derrick Rose. With starter Jeff Teague averaging 33.0 minutes and Crawford getting 20.7 minutes, there wasn’t much room for Jones to continue his growth.
Teague, according to a source, went to Thibodeau during last season and suggested that Jones play more. The Wolves are considering bringing Rose back for next season, and that’s fueled speculation that Jones would be traded this offseason — a package of Jones and Minnesota’s No. 20 pick could bring back some much-needed perimeter shooting.
But sources told Sporting News that Jones met with team management after the playoffs, and Thibodeau reasserted his support of Jones and his development. Even if the Wolves re-sign Rose, Jones was assured, his minutes and opportunities would increase because Crawford is not expected to return to the team. Rose mostly played shooting guard with the Wolves last season, so there’s a chance Jones could play alongside Rose as a backcourt bench unit.
Jones had considered requesting a trade, but the meeting with the team defused that notion before it arose. And for now, at least, the Wolves have no intention of dealing him.
The situation, though, is indicative of the complicated back-and-forth the Wolves are undergoing as they try to move forward with the reality of a coach who can sometimes be too stubborn and a payroll that is about to get too unwieldy. The team is also looking to trade big man Gorgui Dieng, pulled from the starting five in favor of Thibodeau favorite Taj Gibson just a year into his own four-year, $64 million extension.
There’s restricted free agent Nemanja Bjelica, too, who could come back on a qualifying offer but is likely to receive an offer that will price him out of the Wolves’ limited range.
It’s a lot to sort out. Last season was a breakthrough for the Wolves, and should be the start of an upward trend for the franchise. But it’s a thin line between breakthrough and breakdown. This summer will be critical to staying on the right side of that line.