Minnesota Timberwolves: What a difference a year makes

It’s been nearly a year since the Minnesota Timberwolves were in the dark after All-Star Jimmy Butler requested a trade. A lot has changed since then.

Sep. 19 of last year, Jimmy Butler requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, leaving the franchise at yet another dead end.

It’s been nearly a year since Butler met with Tom Thibodeau to request a trade after just one year of wearing a Timberwolves uniform. After a trying season that saw the Wolves take a clear step backwards, things have turned around and there is a different vibe to the team’s culture heading into the new season.

Minnesota had a bright future ahead of them with young budding stars in Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. They had recently drafted Kris Dunn, had a solid point guard in the fold already in Tyus Jones and the No. 7 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

When Thibs was hired, it was expected that his veteran presence and history of being a winning coach would translate. That in fact was the opposite, players didn’t look happy playing under him with his hard-nosed leadership style.

Then after one year of coaching the team, Thibs couldn’t stand rebuilding anymore and traded for his former star, Butler. It cost the team LaVine, Dunn and the No. 7 pick, which ultimately became Lauri Markkanen. At the time it appeared to be the right move: Butler was to come in and bring this franchise a playoff appearance, something fans and this franchise have been craving for far too long.

While Butler did help propel Minnesota to its first playoff appearance in 14 years against the Houston Rockets, it ended all too quickly.

It was reported that Butler didn’t travel back to Minnesota with the team after losing the five-game series. It’s not as shocking when considering that Butler has been making small, indirect comments towards Wiggins and Towns and their lackluster passion for the game of basketball.

Butler did turn down his four-year, $110 million offer from Minnesota, as expected. It was the most the team could offer him at the time. To Butler, it was about winning and not the money, but it was easy to assume that there was more to it than just that.

The Butler drama spewed into the regular season and after a lot of rumors, chaos and darkness looming over the team, he was finally traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 10. Minnesota in turn received Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick.

Covington has been an amazing asset and saw his season end too soon after getting injured on Dec. 31. Regardless, it looks like he’s recovering well and should be of great help during the 2019-20 season.

Saric had an up-and-down season but was a nice addition to the team. He was later traded on draft night to the Phoenix Suns for the sixth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, who was later selected as Jarrett Culver.

Tom Thibodeau was fired after a 22-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 6., thus ending a chapter of Thibs and Butler and eventually the face of the Timberbulls.

Fast-forward a year later from the Butler and Thibs fiasco and Minnesota looks like they’re on the right path to changing its culture.

Ryan Saunders has done a tremendous job making it about communication and a work environment where players and staff are comfortable coming to work. Jordan Bell and Shabazz Napier have both made it known that Saunders has already had an impact on them.

Mix that in with the work Gerson Rosas has already done with his hiring and free agents signings and the Wolves look to be doing some positive work.

Jake Layman, Treveon Graham, Noah Vonleh, Napier and Bell aren’t names that jump off the page, but they are under-the-radar moves that should help the team move in the right direction.

The team’s biggest X-factor is Wiggins, and the team’s success hinges on his development. Never before has he spent so much time at Mayo Clinic Square. Not only that, but he’s been running some five-on-fives in California with other NBA players.

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It’s the type of culture change that Minnesota needed. Under Thibs, players wouldn’t spend time in Minnesota or practicing with one another. But with Saunders, we’ve already seen many instances of players getting together.

Most recently, that was at the Las Vegas Summer League. Players and staff members were on the sidelines watching the summer roster make a nice run to the championship.

Jon Krawczynski from The Athletic recently captured an interview with Towns, talking about what the franchise has done recently. The most notable thing from the interview was this section:

"“The biggest thing when you have that conversation is you say, ‘Is he happy here?’” Towns said. “I’m tremendously happy. I love my front office. I love my coaching staff. I think we’ve made great moves and great changes. I love the culture we have here. If you want to leave, you have to be miserable somewhere. I am not there. I’m planning to be in Minnesota for a long time.”"

There’s been many instances of positive energy coming from the Timberwolves, too much that this article would drag on forever. The gist of it is that Minnesota has made a lot of progress from where they were a year ago.

Minnesota has moved from underneath the shadow of Thibodeau and Butler and has started to build a modern NBA office, and in turn a comfortable and positive, energized culture.

All of these things should translate into wins, and it’s only the beginning for this refreshed franchise.