Culture and money atop the motives behind Jimmy Butler’s potential departure.
When the Minnesota Timberwolves both figuratively and literally traded their whole farm system, people across the league thought the trade as a blockbuster. This is because, in return, the team acquired a highly-regarded superstar in Jimmy Butler. The move instantly put the Timberwolves back into the playoff hunt for the first time since the Kevin Love days.
However, this past season has not been the best for either Butler or his new team. The Timberwolves lost in the first round in five games to the Houston Rockets. Butler was then offered a four year, $110 million extensions to stay with the team this summer, but he declined.
Butler is set to become an unrestricted free agent during next year’s offseason because he declined his $19.8 million player option.
Here are the reasons why he should leave the Timberwolves.
1: The Culture
Ever since its inception (1988), the Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t been seen as a strong organization. From passing twice on Steph Curry, to having the inability to acquire markee talent, it’s clear that the front office isn’t what it could (and needs to) be. Details show why: the team missed the playoffs for fourteen straight seasons.
Last year, new head coach Tom Thibodeau sought out to change that. “One of the things coming here, I knew the challenge that was here. If you lose for 14 years, there’s something dramatically wrong. So you’ve got to change that. And so changing the culture was critical.”
But the reality is he hasn’t changed it. Throughout last year’s NBA season, Jimmy Butler called out the organization. He said that young players, primarily Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins, have a “nonchalant” attitude. He is particularly concerned about Towns, saying that he’s “fed up” with the way Towns handles situations both on- and off-the-court.
If Butler has issues with other star players, why should he stay?
2: The Schematics
Schematically speaking, the Timberwolves and Butler aren’t a perfect match. Butler is best suited for his ball-handling ability. That way, he can optimize his three-tier scoring. But the problem is that both Wiggins and Towns have the same mindset. Those two aren’t as effective off catch-and-shoots as they are in creating their own shots. As a result, Minneapolis has three ball-dominant players with only one ball on the court. Frustration follows.
Last year, this same problem afflicted the OKC Thunder. Carmelo, Westbrook, and George were all after the ball. Anthony, in particular, needs to have the ball in his hands to score. Otherwise, he turns into an ineffective off-ball player. But he didn’t get as many crucial touches as he wanted. As a result, Anthony posted career lows in both points per game and field goal percentage.
Ball distribution became a major issue for OKC and it looks to be the same in Minnesota. Unless Thibodeau can create a situation where there’s more even ball distribution (among Butler, Wiggins, and Towns), expect Butler to speak up and be disgruntled again.
3: The Money
We’ve seen guys like Carmelo Anthony and Devin Booker “take the money” and trade money for being in a situation to win a championship. The incentive was to secure a larger contract deal. The same proposition may be in Butler’s future.
Here are the specifics into his potential contract details:
“The Wolves now have Butler’s Bird Rights, so if Butler opts out of his contract in 2019-20, he could sign a max contract with the Wolves worth 30% of the salary cap with 8% annual raises. By leaving the Timberwolves, another team wouldn’t have Butler’s Bird Rights and could thus only sign him to a deal worth 30% of the cap, with 5% annual raises, over four years.”
Essentially, the Timberwolves can only give him three percent more money than another potential suitor for Butler in free agency. A team, like New York, can give Butler a better opportunity to go deep in the playoffs. Really? Yes! The Knicks have one of the game’s best big man in Kristaps Porzingis and they’re in the Eastern Conference.
That’s where the essential questions arise:
–Is Butler willing to sacrifice three percent of annual raises to be in prime contention for a ring?
–Could he, and possibly another star in Kyrie Irving, create a superteam in NY like many sports analyst predict?
–Is he willing to “take the money” and help transform the young and promising core of Wiggins and Towns?.
When things are all said and done, expect Jimmy Butler to leave the Timberwolves in 2019.
