Jimmy Butler was in the building for the Minnesota Timberwolves' practice session today - and he reportedly "left teammates and coaches largely speechless" as he dominated the gym in every way.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, sources say Butler "verbally challenged" several teammates, coaches and members of the front office, and was "vociferous and emotional at times," as he targeted head coach Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Layden, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
Woj writes: "Butler participated in multiple intrasquad scrimmages, where he joined the bench units against the starters and went out of his way to challenge the team's two young stars, Towns and Wiggins, league sources said. Coaches and players were largely speechless at Butler's tour de force throughout the workout, league sources said."
The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski says veteran forward Anthony Tolliver had the following to say regarding Butler's participation in practice: "He was ... around. That's really all I gotta say about that."
Minnesota was reportedly willing to trade Butler to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, but the Rockets were unwilling to part with PJ Tucker. According to ESPN's Stefano Fusaro, the Timberwolves reportedly asked for Tucker and shooting guard Eric Gordon in a trade involving the 29-year old guard.
The Miami Heat had made progress in trade talks with Minnesota last week and were pushing the Wolves to accept a revised trade offer for Butler, but proposed changes from Minnesota created a "breakdown” in negotiations, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. Wojnarowski reports that the Heat are still interested in restarting talks with Minnesota to acquire Butler, who is entering the final year of his contract and plans to leave in free agency if not traded.
The Timberwolves will open up the regular season on October 17 against the San Antonio Spurs.