In a series of interviews this week, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor detailed his thinking throughout the process that ended with Monday’s trade of Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Taylor told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the Timberwolves “wasted some time” trying to persuade Butler to stay in Minnesota.
He added that he didn’t foresee how tumultuous and short Butler’s tenure in Minnesota would be.
In hindsight, Timberwolves owner has regrets about trading for Jimmy Butler https://t.co/KCiABcKOgc pic.twitter.com/WGRcQPoUf0
— Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) November 15, 2018
Butler joined the Timberwolves in a 2017 draft-day trade that sent Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen to the Bulls and brought Justin Patton to Minnesota. Butler, an All-Star the past four seasons, played 69 games for the Timberwolves.
Taylor told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he felt Butler “had an agenda” that led to the situation spinning out of the Timberwolves’ control and creating a “negative environment.”
“It just appeared that they weren’t working together as a team or as a unit the way that they should’ve. I can’t exactly answer why,” Taylor said. “The only thing that was different that we had was Jimmy’s position of leaving the team.”
Taylor said he was happy that the Timberwolves received assets in Robert Covington and Dario Saric who can help the team win this season as opposed to just hoarding draft picks for the future.
“That’s why when that possibility worked out that I thought that [this offer] was better than some of the other ones that might have included a [draft] pick or something like that,” Taylor told the Pioneer Press. “Of course, we love picks, but I thought that we immediately probably better bring a group together, and these two guys seem to fit in.”
Better not to spend anymore time worrying about Jimmy. He’s gone, and the TWolves have won two straight without him.
No matter how great a player is, if he doesn’t want to be there, you’re not going to win with him.