Minnesota Timberwolves: After Jimmy Butler trade request, what now?

Jimmy Butler has officially asked to be traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves. What happens now for an already down-on-its-luck franchise?

Whatever happened in the Los Angeles meeting between superstar Jimmy Butler and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau must’ve been revealing, because afterwards The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported that Butler had formally requested to be traded.

This was just days after Krawczynski reported Butler would meet with the Timberwolves’ front office to discuss the future.

In the middle of all this chaos, Charania also reported that Karl-Anthony Towns wouldn’t sign his rookie contract max extension until after the Butler situation was resolved.

After Butler’s trade request nearly blew up the internet Wednesday, speculation flew that Towns wanted Butler gone. Everyone can sure be confident that Andrew Wiggins felt that way after his brother tweeted “Hallelujah” in response to the news (Nick Wiggins has since deleted that tweet).

That tweet then (somehow) led Andrew Wiggins to beef with former NBA player and genuinley terrifying human being Stephen Jackson. Suffice it to say, with Wiggins essentially doubling down on his brother’s tweet and letting the world know his feelings, there doesn’t appear to be any turning back for the Timberwolves.

Last week, even free agent Jamal Crawford noted the toxic nature of the Timberwolves’ lockerroom, telling Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, “For me, it just wasn’t a happy environment. It just wasn’t happy.”

Much of that lies at the feet of Tom Thibodeau, who was given full power in 2016 by owner Glen Taylor. After Thibs came in and couldn’t get much out of Towns and Wiggins in his first year, he traded Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft (Lauri Markkanen) for Butler and the No. 16 pick (the already oft-injured Justin Patton).

Charania has noted that Thibodeau doesn’t want to trade Butler, but it would be nearly impossible for him to come back to the team after the way Wiggins and Towns have responded to the situation.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Butler specified three teams he’d like to go to: the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.

Of course, Minnesota can trade Butler anywhere they want, and should get the best deal it can. The nature of that deal will differ significantly in light of who is the final decision-maker: Taylor, Thibodeau or general manager Scott Layden.

Despite the Timberwolves’ long-standing nature as a bottom-feeding NBA franchise and the scorn it has earned Taylor from fans, he is the only one who can correct his mistake of hiring Thibodeau and mitigate the damage he’s caused.

After Hoops Habit already covered specific trade options, here are rundowns on what each team could offer and what the Timberwolves should target in a hypothetical Butler trade.