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Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is more hands-on than many of his fellow NBA team owners, which was on display throughout the team’s recent saga with Jimmy Butler.

Reports early in the process indicated that some teams were contacting Taylor directly to discuss potential trades for Butler, since Minnesota’s management team of Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden seemed less inclined to make a move. When Butler was finally dealt over the weekend, a report suggested that the team owners on both sides were “heavily involved” in negotiations.

With that in mind, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune each spoke to Taylor about the deal the Wolves ultimately made, getting the owner’s thoughts on the package Minnesota received from the Sixers and the drama leading up to that trade agreement.

Here are a few of the highlights from Taylor, via Krawcznyski’s interview unless otherwise noted:

On Tom Thibodeau’s future with the Timberwolves:

“Like most coaches, he’ll be measured on the success of the team. Not one game, but what we can do overall, or just the improvement. If we can see improvement every day, that would be a very positive thing. Those are his expectations and that would be mine too. … Now it’s the (looking toward the) future. We’re looking forward. He’s supposed to be a coach with veteran knowledge. Hopefully he can bring that experience to this group of players and we win a lot more than we lose.”

On how Thibodeau’s close relationship with Butler affected the situation:

“It was hard for the coach to see an end to this relationship. I think he felt responsible that he should work hard to try to get Jimmy to change his mind, to stay with us, to meet the goals that we all agreed upon and that was to have a successful year this year and he would coach it, Jimmy would help in the leadership needs of the team and get us deep in the playoffs. I don’t fault the coach at all for having those desires and hopes.

“But of course as you saw, that strung out the timetable because a lot of effort on his part was put into trying to work with Jimmy. It’s probably from my viewpoint as being a step away from it, I felt that this was probably not going to work out.”

On how Butler handled the situation:

“I certainly wished that he would follow what I would call his behavior of being a leader on the team and doing positive things in the locker room, doing positive things out on the floor. I know in a number of cases he did do that, and I appreciate that. But my expectations of Jimmy were quite high. When we had these disruptions, rightly or wrongly, it appeared to have affected the team in a negative way.”

On whether Butler’s trade request was impacting the Wolves’ play (via Hine):

“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. The only thing that was different that we had was Jimmy’s position of leaving the team. Maybe that was affecting guys more than they even knew themselves.”

On the trade package the Wolves received:

“I think in this case we were able to do two things that are very important. No. 1, we brought in some guys that could help us immediately, and I think that’s important. Secondly, we don’t have to look at it as just this year. I think because of their age and because of their contracts we can look at them as some fellows that can help us into the future. And that to me is very important.”

In case you missed any of this past week’s biggest stories from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Listed below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days.

The Lakers’ disappointing start is turning up the heat on coach Luke Walton. Team president Magic Johnson “admonished” Walton for the team’s poor performance and delivered a message that improvement is necessary. The front office is counting on a trip to the playoffs after signing LeBron James and a group of veterans over the summer.

The Cavaliers’ Tyronn Lue became the first coach to be fired this season. He was dismissed for the team’s 0-6 start and a dispute with GM Koby Altman about who should be getting playing time. Larry Drew has taken over, but he describes himself as the “voice of the team,” rather than an interim coach as he tries to work out a more permanent arrangement.

Cleveland lost star forward Kevin Love for at least six weeks after surgery on his left foot. Love had missed four straight games with a toe injury before the decision was made to operate. Sam Dekker has taken over his starting spot.

The news wasn’t all bad this week in Cleveland, which learned it will be the host city for the 2022 All-Star Game. It will mark the first time the Cavs have hosted the game since 1997.

Jimmy Butler made headlines again when he opted to sit out Wednesday’s game because of “general soreness.” There was speculation that he might be planning an extended absence to force the Timberwolves’ hands on his trade request, but he was back in the lineup Friday in Golden State.

Here are 10 more notable headlines from last week:

• Wizards’ management pledged its full support to coach Scott Brooks despite a disastrous start to the season.
• Frustrated over losing and reduced playing time, veteran guard J.R. Smith said he would welcome a trade out of Cleveland.
• The NBA plans to start its schedule a week later next season. The 2019 FIBA World Cup was a factor in the decision.
• The Wizards filled their 14th roster spot by signing guard Chasson Randle. Washington had been carrying 13 players since the start of the season and was facing a deadline to add a player.
• Wednesday was the deadline for rookie scale option decisions, and although most were picked up, a few significant players had theirs declined and are headed to free agency.
• The Grizzlies waived third-year guard Andrew Harrison, who had fallen out of the rotation. His contract was non-guaranteed.
• Rick Pitino is hoping to return to the NBA after being dismissed from Louisville in the wake of an FBI investigation.
• Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted that the team probably can’t count on having DeMarcus Cousins for more than one season.
• In New Orleans, Anthony Davis expressed hope that Cousins can return to the Pelicans.
• Former Rockets guard Bobby Brown signed a deal to play in Montenegro.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Appearing today on Darren Wolfson’s podcast The Scoop, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor didn’t guarantee that Jimmy Butler would be traded before February’s deadline, but said his best guess was that it would happen. In Taylor’s view, teams may not have put their best offers on the table yet, since they’re still trying to take advantage of Minnesota’s diminished leverage created by Butler’s strong desire to leave.

Taylor, who confirmed that GM Scott Layden is the point man on trade negotiations, with Tom Thibodeau focusing on coaching, said that about half the teams in the league have made inquiries on Butler. Asked by Wolfson if the Timberwolves are feeling pressure to pull the trigger on a deal soon, Taylor said that he knows his team won’t necessarily get a “perfect” deal, but added that he owes it to fans to get the best return possible, which means being patient.

Here’s more from out of Minnesota:

• In a column for The Star Tribune, Jim Souhan argues that the Timberwolves should resolve the Butler situation sooner rather than later, writing that the saga has hurt the team’s culture and cost Thibodeau credibility in the locker room.
• Before he went off for 50 points against the Jazz on Wednesday night, Derrick Rose spoke to Shams Charania of The Athletic about the opportunity he has been given in Minnesota to be a key contributor again without necessarily having to regain his old MVP form. Charania also explores the respect that stars around the NBA still have for Rose.
• An MRI on Tyus Jones‘ injured right foot came back negative, with inflammation in the foot, sources tell Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jones is considered day-to-day, having apparently avoided a more serious injury.

While there’s a long way to go until next July’s free agent period, the early returns on the Raptors‘ risky acquisition of Kawhi Leonard are encouraging, writes Josh Lewenberg at TSN.ca. While Leonard has looked a little rusty in the preseason, last season’s quad injury hasn’t been an issue at all, and Danny Green said this week that his longtime teammate has been “more vocal than he’s ever been” both on and off the court.

“It looks like he feels comfortable. It looks like he feels at home,” Green said of Leonard. “He’s talking to guys, he’s leading by example, in the huddles he’s chiming in, saying what he feels, saying his opinion. Before he didn’t really show or tell his opinion much.”

As Green pointed out, Leonard may feel more comfortable taking on a leadership role in Toronto than he did in San Antonio, where he was surrounded by veterans like Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan, as well as a highly accomplished coach like Gregg Popovich. Whether he feels comfortable enough in Toronto to stick around for more than a year remains to be seen.

Here are a few more Raptors-related items:

• As Delon Wright enters a contract year, Eric Koreen of The Athletic explores the ways in which the Raptors would like to see his game develop, including an increased willingness to shoot the ball from beyond the arc.
• Wright could avoid restricted free agency in 2019 by reaching an agreement with the Raptors on a contract extension before next Monday’s deadline. Blake Murphy of The Athletic explores what such a deal might look like. In Murphy’s opinion, Toronto would likely jump at a contract in the neighborhood of $8MM per year, but Wright’s side could be justified in seeking something like $12MM annually. The club’s Fred VanVleet ($9MM per year) and Norman Powell ($10.5MM) deals figure to be points of comparison in negotiations with Wright.
• After the 2017/18 regular season success of the Raptors’ Bench Mob didn’t necessarily translate to the playoffs, new head coach Nick Nurse and his staff are “aiming for a whole new kind of depth” in 2018/19, says Scott Stinson of The National Post. Stinson expects Nurse to explore more piece-by-piece mixing and matching in his lineup, whereas last year’s team often employed two distinct five-man units.

As the 2018/19 regular season nears, the Grizzlies are eager to show that last season’s disastrous 22-60 showing was an aberration, writes Teresa M. Walker of The Associated Press. Longtime general manager Chris Wallace is pleased with an offseason that saw the club add Kyle Anderson in free agency and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the draft, indicating earlier this week that he expects Memphis to get back in the postseason picture.

“I’m very confident we’ll be back in the thick of things in the Western Conference, and we’ve had a lot of success against these teams over the years,” Wallace said. “We’ve done well in the playoffs against some of the top teams in the West. I think we can continue that after a year on the sidelines. We’re raring to get back into the playoffs and be a real factor again.”

Here’s more from out of Memphis:

• Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley was limited to just 12 games last season due to heel and Achilles issues, but he has been medically cleared and is pain-free during training camp, Walker writes for The Associated Press. “You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger free agent signing than us bringing Mike Conley back healthy,” new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said this week.
• Conley isn’t the only Grizzlies player who’s feeling better heading into the 2018/19 season. As Peter Edmiston of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details, there are virtually no health concerns in Memphis at the moment, with oft-injured forward Chandler Parsons also taking part in every session during training camp. Edmiston also passes along a few more takeaways from the Grizzlies’ first week of camp.
• The battle for playing time at shooting guard for the Grizzlies figures to be fierce , with Garrett Temple, MarShon Brooks, and Wayne Selden among the club’s options. Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com takes a closer look at the situation, observing that Dillon Brooks – who played primarily at small forward last year but could shift more to the two with Anderson in the mix – can’t afford a sophomore slump if he wants to retain a key role in Memphis’ lineup.