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Tom Thibodeau made it clear on Monday that he was ready to trade Jimmy Butler, but only if it's a good deal for the Timberwolves.
Thibodeau, basketball president and Wolves head coach, publicly spoke for the first time about Butler's commercial demand at Wolf Media Day Monday at the Target Center.
Butler was excused from participating in the media day, but Thibodeau said the All-Star four times had undergone a physical exam and would not be on the ground for the first week of camp because he was continuing his rehabilitation and conditioning. Butler had an intervention on his hand in July.
"When you look at who Jimmy is, he's one of the top 10 players in the league," said Thibodeau. "We are not going to make a bad deal. … If it's a good deal, we're interested.
Thibodeau said that if Butler is not exchanged in the coming days and that he is about to return from his rehab, he will train with the wolves.
Thibodeau, according to reports, was initially reluctant to switch Butler, which he trained in Chicago and then acquired Bulls in June 2017. However, the owner Glen Taylor clearly explained to Thibodeau and the general manager Scott Layden that Butler would be moved .
Butler, who enters the final season of his contract, made his trade request last week and Thibodeau said it was the first time Butler had made such a request. ESPN initially indicated that the list of sites desired by Butler included the Clippers, Knicks and Nets. But the network of all sports said the list of teams interested in talking to the wolves about an agreement for Butler includes the Nets, Clippers, Pistons, Rockets, Heat, 76ers, Trail Blazers and Kings.
If Butler stays in Minnesota, this could be an extremely difficult situation as his relationship with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins would be fractured at this stage. The Wolves signed contracts with cities at most during the weekend, after the contract became clear. Cities have tried to say that his relationship with Butler was "good" on Monday.
Thibodeau refused to go into the details of what Butler told him about his absence.
"There are a lot of people who say all the good things and never do the right things," said Thibodeau about Butler's impact in Minnesota. "And sometimes a player can say something and that may not be the right tone, but it's the right message.
"So, when I look at the impact (of having Butler), it was huge. Win 47 games? For me, the impact was great. To see the sold building, see the interest of the team and how it worked on the ground … we won 47 games and Jimmy missed something like 25 games. Victory was the source of everyone's value.
The Wolves went from 31 to 47 wins last season and ended a 13-year drought in the playoffs in Thibodeau's second season. The hope was that Butler and Towns could reach higher levels this season. This is unlikely to happen and another former bull, Taj Gibson, gave a truthful answer to the situation.
Gibson, if Butler's trade negotiations are a distraction: "That's the case. This is really the case. You look at the talent and progress we made last year to participate in the playoffs, so many ups and downs before the training camp, it's weird. "
– Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) September 24, 2018
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