LAS VEGAS — Tom Thibodeau knew the question was coming and had an answer before it was even completed.
As a reporter asked how Thibodeau assessed the relationship between Jimmy and …
“We know how important both guys are to our team, so we’re just getting ready for next year,” Thibodeau said, getting out in front of it before Karl-Anthony Towns’ name had even been mentioned.
Advertisement
During the same Las Vegas Summer League game, GM Scott Layden appeared during the television broadcast and deftly sprinkled some Towns praise into an answer that started with him talking about how Butler’s personality fits with Thibodeau’s approach.
“To get a guy like Jimmy Butler, all-NBA player who was familiar with coach Thibs’ style and system worked out well,” Layden said, looking back at draft night last summer. “The key to that is having KAT, whose just had another great season, All-NBA player, made the All-Star team, to add Jimmy to KAT and Wigg, we were really very fortunate.”
The constant churn of the NBA rumor mill reaches a fever pitch at the Summer League, where executives, coaches, agents and players all gather to watch youngsters hit the court while they work to get deals done over face-to-face conversations in back hallways and over dinners on the strip. The Timberwolves have been at the center of conversations from people all over the league who are watching to see if the trio of Butler, Towns and Andrew Wiggins can evolve from an uneasy partnership to a fully-formed unit.
Thibodeau and Layden know what people are saying, so they are being resolute in their messaging. The approach comes after another story last week, this one in the Chicago Sun-Times, that cast Butler as a frustrated big brother with designs on leaving Minnesota as soon as he can exercise the player option in his contract next summer.
It also comes while the Timberwolves are in the early stages of discussions with Towns’ representatives about a max-level contract, league sources told The Athletic. Towns recently returned to the United States after vacationing in Italy, and there was hope that the talks could become more substantive now that he’s back home.
There is optimism throughout the organization that the two sides will eventually reach agreement, and a belief that the concerns about team chemistry can be smoothed over as time goes on.
Advertisement
While Thibodeau and Layden have been publicly extolling the importance of both All-Stars and Wiggins to the team’s ability to compete in the even more powerful Western Conference, the three players have all been whisper quiet as the summer drama has swirled.
Towns wasn’t ready to address the situation in an interview with The Athletic from Italy last week. He came to Las Vegas for a meeting with the players’ union on Tuesday, but was only in town for the day and has yet to have extensive, formal talks with the Wolves on that front.
If Towns and the Timberwolves eventually reach agreement, a five-year extension would pay him $158 million. That number could increase to closer to $190 million if Towns makes an All-NBA team next season like he did in 2017-18.
The Wolves maxed out Wiggins last summer, a process that took nearly the entire offseason while Wiggins parted ways with BDA Sports and started to set up his own representation and support system. It wasn’t until just before training camp started that Wiggins signed the contract.
With that deal serving as a precedent, the Wolves have long known that another max deal would be headed Towns’ way. But they do hope it will happen on a faster timeline.
When asked before free agency began on July 1 if he had a good feel for how the Towns negotiations will play out, Thibodeau chuckled and said, “I don’t. I don’t. We’re just optimistic it will be done as soon as possible.”
Wiggins has been his usual publicly silent self during the summer while traveling, working out with famed NBA trainer Rob McClanahan and preparing for his fifth NBA season.
The closest thing there has been to a public acknowledgement of the tension came from Butler, who was in Greece last week. After the Sun-Times story was published, citing sources that said he would not sign an extension with the Wolves, was frustrated with Towns and wanted to team up with Kyrie Irving, Butler recorded a video on social media to address it while he was working out. But it was comically cut short just before he was getting to the heart of his message.
Jimmy Butler currently on a working holiday in Mykonos, briefly touches on the rumor he wants out of Minnesota.
"I'm working, I know where I…"
–End of transmission– pic.twitter.com/EnGRXY2pRg
— Adam Spector – the Fist of Khonshu. (@Howsito) July 4, 2018
“I heard there is something going on about me not wanting to be here or be there,” Butler said. “I’m working, I know where I …”
And that’s when the video ended.
Butler has is own contract situation to deal with. He is eligible for a four-year, $110 million extension this summer but has no interest in accepting that. He can become a free agent at the end of next season and would be eligible for a max contract that could pay him more than $180 million.
Advertisement
“We know how important Jimmy is to the team, but we don’t talk about contract negotiations or anything like that,” Thibodeau said this week. “Just get ready for the rest of the season.”
When the Wolves do sit down with Towns to discuss things directly, it could provide an opportunity for the kind of open dialogue and communication that would seem to be key to establishing that chemistry heading into next season.
Judging from the public comments from Thibodeau and Layden this week, there is a desire to address the situation and move past the constant rumors and concern about the meshing of personalities between their three most important players. It is the single biggest issue facing the team as they prepare for what is expected to be a brutal fight for a second straight playoff appearance in the West.
As all three players have crisscrossed the globe on vacations, the distance has made it harder to communicate. Maybe that’s why they have been so outspoken during telecasts and press conferences on the off chance that Towns, Wiggins and Butler see it from afar.
“When you match up talent and character and sprinkle in work ethic, guys like him just continue to grow,” Layden said of Towns on the ESPN broadcast. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been around some great pros. This guy in the early stages of his career is headed for greatness.”
Once Summer League play comes to an end, the Wolves will return to Minnesota and start turning their eyes toward the season. Players will start trickling in periodically for workouts and to reconnect after some time away.
work. 🎥 @ChuckyAnthony pic.twitter.com/MqGRLmtjXB
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) July 8, 2018
In those face-to-face interactions, Thibodeau and Layden can deliver their messages directly and try to get everyone on the same page moving forward.
As they prepare for a new-look West that now includes LeBron James, those conversations may be as important to the Wolves’ chances going into next season as any workouts or training they will do on the court.
(Top image: The chemistry between Jimmy Butler (left) and Karl-Anthony Towns will be key for the Timberwolves heading into next season. Credit: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)