Jimmy Butler Rumors: Tom Thibodeau Tried Persuading Him To Join Preseason Practice

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau attempted to convince Jimmy Butler to join the team in the preseason, according to ESPN sources.

Butler requested for a trade away from the franchise last week, though Thibodeau was initially not prepared to trade the shooting guard unless a veteran came his way.

However, during media day Monday, he revealed a good offer would certainly interest Minnesota. If not, they would keep Butler until the end of the season where he would then become an unrestricted free agent.

"If something is good for us, then we're interested in doing it," Thibodeau said. "If not, we're ready to move forward the other way."

Butler was given permission to miss media day and needed to "do some rehab and conditioning work" according to Thibodeau. The latest from ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, however, states that Thibodeau met with Butler on Monday and tried to persuade him into rejoining the team in the preseason.

It was seemingly to no avail though, as Butler is currently sitting out, "awaiting the organization to honor his trade request."

While Thibodeau is prepared to keep an unhappy Butler for the 2018/19 season if there is no good offer, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor reportedly wants a deal mandated before Tuesday.

"The owner's trading him. That was made clear. It's just a matter of when," one board of governors source told ESPN while another high-ranking league official said: "He [Taylor] basically said, 'If you don't get anywhere with [Thibodeau's general manager, Scott Layden] and you've got something good, bring it to me."

When the news of Butler came out, his initial shortlist had the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. However, Wojnarowski later added that the Clippers were his main preference as they had the cap space to not only offer him a max contract when he becomes a free agent but another top star in free agency as well.

As for why Butler wanted out, there were already reports stating he had clashed with teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns as the 29-year-old was frustrated with them. Butler had also rejected a four-year, $110 million contract in the summer.

When asked about this on media day, Thibodeau did not exactly deny anything, as he spoke of the impact of Butler's arrival in Minnesota last year despite the risks that came with his deal.

"There are many people who say all the right things and never do any of the right things," Thibodeau explained. "And sometimes a player might say something and it might not be the right tone, but it is the right message. So when I look at what was the impact [of having Butler], it was huge."

"To win 47 games? To me, the impact he had was great. To see the building sold out, to see the interest in the team and the way it worked on the floor ... we won 47 games and Jimmy missed something like 25 games. The winning was what brought everyone's value up," he said.

Butler's 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game notably helped the Timberwolves reach the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and their 47 games won was the first time they had a winning season since the Kevin Garnett era.