Adrian Wojnarowski: Minnesota’s Tom Thibodeau is traveling to Los Angeles to meet with Jimmy Butler today, league sources tell ESPN. Original plan had been a meeting in Minneapolis, but that changed in the past 24 hours.
Tom Thibodeau Rumors
A meeting set between Minnesota Timberwolves four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and president of basketball operations/coach Tom Thibodeau is expected to set the tone for Butler’s final season under contract — and his impending free agency in July, league sources told ESPN on Saturday. Just days before the start of training camp in Minneapolis, Butler and his agent, Bernie Lee, are planning to meet with Thibodeau on Monday in Minneapolis for what’s expected to be a serious conversation on the franchise’s fragile state, sources said.
The Thibodeau-Butler relationship has been largely strong since the Bulls drafted Butler in 2011, but Butler’s partnership with young star Karl-Anthony Towns has been strained and remains an obstacle to the 2018-19 team’s success — and perhaps the ability to sign Butler to a new contract next summer, league sources said.
The Butler-Towns tension is paramount, but it’s hardly the only organizational drama that’s threatening to undermine the franchise’s current structure. Owner Glen Taylor has significant concern with the broader franchise culture under Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden — so much so that Taylor considered changes in the offseason, league sources said. Taylor has privately second-guessed his decision to give Thibodeau full control of basketball operations as a part of hiring him as coach, league sources said.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Jimmy Butler’s meeting w/ Minnesota management early next week as @ Jon Krawczynski reports. Butler, Tom Thibodeau have had a strong relationship for years, but there are organizational issues that need to be sorted. Source on meeting: “Whatever needs to be communicated…will be.”
