Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has “significant concern” over the culture created under both head coach/team president Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden, according to a report from ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
Taylor’s concerns run so deep that he reportedly contemplated making organizational changes during the offseason. Today, news broke that Timberwolves All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler is uncertain about his future with the franchise and will meet with Thibodeau and Layden on Monday.
Butler turned down the Timberwolves’ four-year, $110 million extension offer in July. Butler is reportedly not sold on playing with Andrew Wiggins and is fed up with the nonchalant attitude of Karl-Anthony Towns. The 29-year-old is slated to make $18.7 million this season and has a player option for the 2019-20 season. More money is available to Butler if he plays out his contract and enters the open market in 2019.
Minnesota can offer Butler a max contract worth $187 million over five years. Should he walk, the largest deal Butler could secure elsewhere is $140 million over four seasons.
Thibodeau, who won Coach of the Year with the Chicago Bulls in 2011, was hired by the Timberwolves in 2016. According to ESPN’s report, Taylor “second-guessed” his decision recently to grant Thibodeau the authority to control basketball operations, along with being the head coach.
The Timberwolves made the 2018 playoffs, the first time the organization has reached the postseason in the last 14 years. Minnesota lost to the Houston Rockets in the first-round in five games.
