Jimmy Butler is out. Finally. He should have been dealt soon after he met with, and made demands to, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor two months ago; he was a Top-20 player with an inflated ego who believed himself to be a franchise cornerstone, but on his terms. Instead, management let the situation drag on, with head coach Tom Thibodeau putting personal interests first and allowing the problem to worsen, to the point where All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns all but became a timid scrub and everybody else had to make like nothing was wrong for the sake of sanity.
The Timberwolves didn鈥檛 have to suffer through five straight losses and put up a 4-9 slate, a mere game out of last place in the West, to realize that getting rid of Butler was tantamount to addition by subtraction. He was openly recalcitrant; he suited up only when he felt like it and pretty much did anything he desired without regard for the repercussions. Among others, the interview with ESPN鈥檚 Rachel Nichols last month and the celebration of a loss with Celtics fans last week showed he was willing to stoop really, really low just to get what he wanted.
That said, the Timberwolves had better offers on the table than the veritable pile of dog poop the Sixers laid on their doorstep; it gives them a whopping $170,000 in savings, and one of the trade 鈥渁ssets鈥 they got is likely to play zero minutes for them. They received superior proposals for Butler in the time they were dragging their feet, including the maximum-allowable four first-round picks from the Rockets. And don鈥檛 believe the load of crock that he had to go to the East. The real reason exposes their myopia: Thibodeau still wants to win now and keep the hot seat, and Taylor — in typical head-scratching fashion — went along.
Moving forward, the Sixers will be scary good. Their defense will be top-notch, allowing them to rub elbows with the best of the best in the league for as long as Butler鈥檚 brittle body holds up. Regardless of the strides they鈥檒l make, however, one universal truth will remain: They won鈥檛 get close to beating the Warriors. And pundits don鈥檛 need an active imagination to envision their new acquisition鈥檚 alpha-dog persona running sophomores Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons to the ground after airballs or passed-up open three pointers.
Bottom line, though: Hoops lifers won. The Sixers are better. The Rockets are livid. The Timberwolves are, well, the Timberwolves. And the Warriors are still going to be champions. In short, it鈥檚 another crazy day in the NBA, where everything is truly fan-tastic.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
