NBA Season Preview 2018-19: 5 teams that this season will make or break
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
Speaking of teams that may implode by mid-January… or, hell, by next week.
Multiple reports emerged this summer hinting at underlying tension among Minnesota Timberwolves teammates that threatened to rip the team apart from within. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, star swingman Jimmy Butler “has been frustrated with the nonchalant attitudes of younger teammates—specifically Karl-Anthony Towns,” while Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported Butler “had problems” with Andrew Wiggins’ “work ethic and his approach on the defensive end of the floor.”
That tension came to a head Wednesday, as The Vertical’s Shams Charania reported Butler has requested a trade from the Timberwolves. According to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are atop his list of preferred trade destinations, although “his list could expand based upon the Timberwolves’ and rival teams’ willingness to negotiate a trade for him.
Towns, meanwhile, is in no hurry to sign the extension he became eligible for on July 1, which ESPN’s Brian Windhorst dubbed “eyebrow-raising” in late August.
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“Does Karl Towns, who isn’t necessarily comfortable with how everything’s going with the team this year, does he commit and say, ‘I want to be here for five years?’,” Windhorst said. “Maybe that will happen in a couple of weeks, but until it does, I think it’s fair to wonder just how strong that bond is between him and the franchise.”
According to Charania, Towns doesn’t plan to sign his extension until the Butler situation “resolves itself.” If he doesn’t sign the extension by Oct. 15, he’ll instead become a restricted free agent next summer, which puts enormous pressure on the T-Wolves to trade Butler within the next few weeks.
The Timberwolves snapped their 13-year playoff drought last season despite Butler missing 23 games. But unless something drastic changes, it appears as though Butler, Towns and Wiggins will be a short-lived Big Three.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Basketball Insiders.