Can Thibodeau separate his roles to correctly resolve the Butler situation?

Happiness is ever fleeting for Timberwolves fans. Despite ending their 14-year playoff drought last season, the offseason has been shrouded in tension.

Karl-Anthony Towns has yet to sign his new extension, reportedly looking to talk to management first before doing so. Then, on Saturday, the Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reported that Jimmy Butler would meet with Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden on Monday to discuss his future with the franchise. 

This meeting is the culmination of a summer steeped in leaks to the media about how Butler is upset with Andrew Wiggins and Towns for, more or less, not taking the game as seriously as he does. It has also been reported that he and Kyrie Irving have interest in teaming up somewhere next summer.

You can almost hear Butler grit his teeth and crank out an extra 100 pushups every time Towns or Wiggins tweets about some video game, or something non-basketball related.

Look, I get it. Butler has worked his way from the 30th pick in the draft to a top-whatever player in the NBA. He expects a lot from himself and in turn, expects a lot from the people around him. But we’ve seen how divisive this approach is now in both Chicago and Minneapolis. Look what Butler once told Michael Pina of Vice Sports.

"“I think it’s wrong for me to think that people want what I want because in reality they don’t. Some people are OK with getting drafted. Some people are OK with playing two years in the league, four years in the league, six years in the league. Some people are OK with just scoring a basket in an NBA game. I’m not OK with any of that. I’m not satisfied until I win a championship,” he says. “I want everybody to work the way that I work and it’s wrong for me to think like that because people don’t do it! But in my mind I’m just like why? Why don’t you want to chase greatness the way that I do?”"

Butler and Thibodeau are very much cut from the same cloth. Both are no-nonsense basketball men who don’t accept less than the very best from those around them. In fact, it’s highly unlikely Butler would be a Timberwolf if it weren’t for Thibodeau working to bring him over here. And Thibodeau will always have a soft spot for Butler because of how hard he worked to earn a place in the starting lineup of those Bulls teams from earlier this decade.

That’s what makes this all complicated: Thibodeau’s relationship with Butler. Thibodeau has the second-most control over the direction of this franchise. Even then, owner Glen Taylor isn’t overly hands-on in his running of the team. At any rate, as both the head coach and president of basketball operations, Thibodeau has the most sway over this situation.

Can Thibodeau separate his roles to resolve the situation?

When the Wolves meet with Butler on Monday, they need to meet their star player as the president of basketball operations and the general manager. This can’t be the coach, president of basketball operations, and the general manager. Why? Because this is a significant conflict of interest and the outcome needs to suit the best interests of the franchise going forward.

Thibodeau’s close relationship could be a tremendous benefit to the team in more stable times. But given the tumultuous nature of the last six months or so, Thibodeau needs to be able to sever himself from the job of basketball coach for that meeting.

Because if Towns is unhappy and uncertain if he wants to remain a Timberwolf long term, he can be gone after 2020 by taking the qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent after next season. It’s never happened before but the fact that this extension has taken so long and Towns wanting to meet with the team before signing anything is concerning.

Choosing 30-year old Butler over the 23-year old rising star center would be a mistake that could set the franchise back years.

We’ve seen this conflict of interest play out already. Tyus Jones was having a solid season before Derrick Rose was signed and took a good amount of his minutes. This led to Jones going to the team to clarify his role and future with the franchise. And after drafting guard Josh Okogie, Thibodeau signed Luol Deng, muddying up Okogie’s path to the court. Why should this time be any different?

An important year for Thibodeau

Darren Wolfson of KSTP in Minneapolis reported in the spring that there’s a disconnect in the Timberwolves’ front office stemming from Thibodeau. Wolfson has also suggested on 1500 ESPN that had the Wolves failed to make the playoffs, major changes could have occurred. While Wolfson did not specify what those changes would have been exactly, it’s clear that all is not entirely well between Thibodeau and the Timberwolves.

Could Thibodeau potentially be working for one or both of his jobs this season? It seems as if it could be a possibility. Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, that could strengthen his unwillingness to deal Butler should he inform the team he intends to leave. After all, a healthy Butler makes this team better.

Yet, not acting in the best interest of the franchise should be a fireable offense. If Butler doesn’t want to stay and the Wolves can get something for him as a rental, they must. Deciding to keep Butler anyway and allowing him to leave for nothing would be foolish and short-sighted even if it helps them return to the postseason.

The risk of alienating Towns to keep Butler for another first-round exit doesn’t make a ton of sense.

Placing the focus where it belongs

The fact that the Timberwolves are taking a meeting with Butler before Towns to ease his concerns shows that their priorities are misplaced. A Towns extension should not take this long. In an ideal circumstance, this should have been handled long ago. If there was any pause or concerns from Towns, they should have done their part to suss them out before now.

As for Butler, the Wolves have done their part. They offered him four years and $110 million, which Butler rightfully declined. The Wolves can still offer Butler as much as $188 million over five years this summer should the situation prove to reparable.

Unfortunately, by the time a problem reaches the point of a meeting, it’s usually too late to mend those fences. Save for the Gregg Popovich and LaMarcus Aldridge, a meeting is often the step preceding the divorce.

If Butler is disinterested in making things work with Wiggins and Towns and change his approach, then it would be in the best interest of the franchise to get something for him while they still can.

Should Butler want out, there’s no easy choice at this point. Trading Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markaanen for Butler and then having to flip Butler within 18 months isn’t the best look but it could be worse. Losing Butler for nothing and having Towns take his qualifying offer is worse.

An unenviable situation

The Timberwolves have painted themselves into an unenviable corner that casts a shadow over what should be a promising season. Instead of talking about building on last season’s postseason run, we’re asking if the team is on the verge of implosion. That’s not where you hope to be for what was an up-and-coming franchise just a year ago.

It can still be fixed but hard decisions need to be made. Thibodeau needs to be able to separate his roles in an effort to act in the best interest of the team if Butler wishes to leave. Overall, Glen Taylor needs to ask himself if Thibodeau is the best person to operate and coach his basketball team regardless of the outcome. These are not easy decisions because Taylor highly values personal relationships and Thibodeau highly values his with Butler.

Yet, life is full of difficult decisions. What’s clear is that these pieces aren’t fitting and not just on the basketball court. Things should not be as difficult as they have been. By the time Tuesday morning rolls around, we’ll have a better idea of what needs to be done to ease the tension that has surrounded this team.