Losing Jimmy Butler Gives Wolves (and Their Coach) a Chance to Refresh

Discussion in 'Minnesota Timberwolves' started by truebluefan, Nov 11, 2018.

  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    The other shoe finally dropped in Minnesota, as they sent Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia for a package headlined by Dario Saric and Robert Covington on Saturday. The Butler saga had cast a shadow over the organization ever since his trade demand became public before the start of training camp. Wolves head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to trade him, but their miserable start (4-9 record with a net rating of minus-7.2) left him no choice. There’s no way to replace an All-NBA talent like Butler in a trade. The only hope is to make up the difference with pieces that fit better around Karl-Anthony Towns, the one star the Wolves have left.

    Towns, despite signing a five-year, $190 million extension in the offseason, has been in a funk all season. The 7-footer is averaging his fewest points (19.9) and rebounds (10.8) since his rookie season, as well as a career low field goal percentage (45.9). While he hasn’t said much about Butler, it’s not hard to connect the dots when you look at his play. Towns is averaging 27.3 points in the three games Butler has missed this season. Talent has never been the issue for the former no. 1 overall pick. He’s coming off his best game of the season: 39 points and 19 rebounds in a 121-110 loss to the Kings on Friday.

    Read more https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/11/18084790/timberwolves-jimmy-butler-trade-saric-covington
     

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