Jimmy Butler Rumors: Taylor, Thibodeau, Mavs

As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier today, there has been some confusion among potential Jimmy Butler suitors who have spoken to the Timberwolves, since it’s not clear if Minnesota’s ownership and management groups are on the same page when it comes to a Butler trade. Over at The Athletic, Jon Krawczynski’s latest report on the Butler situation touches many of the same bases that Wojnarowski’s did, with a few new details included.

After Tom Thibodeau met with Butler in the hopes of convincing him to report to the Timberwolves, Butler sought out owner Glen Taylor to receive assurances that the club was actually making “good faith efforts” to trade him, sources tell Krawczynski.

According to Krawczynski’s report, Butler’s camp has conveyed his dissatisfaction with the situation in Minnesota throughout the offseason — his representatives talked to Thibodeau in July about the 29-year-old’s unwillingness to re-sign long-term with the franchise, and Butler conveyed that same message to the head coach in August when Thibodeau visited him in California. However, there’s no indication that Butler requested a trade until last week.

Here are a few more of the latest items on Butler:

• Asked again today about Butler, Thibodeau sounded more open than ever to the idea of moving on from his All-NBA swingman. “We’re going to honor his request,” Thibodeau said, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (video link). “But we’re not going to do a bad deal. … We’re trying to make the best deal for the Timberwolves. … That’s what my job is. That’s what [GM] Scott [Layden]‘s job is. Obviously, a move of this magnitude, Glen’s involved in it too.”
• Despite Thibodeau saying the right things about Butler publicly, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune hears from a source that the Timberwolves‘ head coach and president of basketball operations remains reluctant to make a deal.
• It’s probably safe to cross the Mavericks off the list of possible suitors for Butler, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, who hears from a high-ranking Mavs official that “he’s not coming here.”
• Thibodeau took a risk on Butler and got burned, writes Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune, noting that the “clock is ticking” on Thibs to prove that he can make Plan B work for the Timberwolves.