Jimmy Butler Trade Met Minnesota Timberwolves' 'Parameters', Tom Thibodeau Says

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau felt the Philadelphia 76ers' offer for Jimmy Butler met what the franchise was looking for.

Ever since it was revealed that Butler wanted out in September, Thibodeau was adamant that while he wanted to try and persuade the 30-year-old to stay, he would only accept a trade offer that saw veterans come Minnesota's way.

Despite receiving a huge offer from the Houston Rockets that included four first-round draft picks, Thibodeau instead vouched to keep waiting until he was finally satisfied with an offer.

Philadelphia was the team that finally delivered with a trade package that included the likes of Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick for Butler and Justin Patton. It was accepted over the weekend.

"I said from the beginning, you always have to put the organization first," Thibodeau said of the trade for the first time, as quoted on ESPN. "So you set the parameters for what you are looking for and once we felt we got to that point where the offers met some of the things we were looking for, then we said, 'OK, now it's time.'"

Despite preferring veterans over draft picks and youngsters, Thibodeau denied it was a preference to help with his own job security as he spoke up the importance of the second-round pick Philadelphia offered.

"Not really. It was what was best for the organization," Thibodeau explained. "Obviously getting good players was a priority. The pick part was important. We felt we got a good pick from Philly."

"It was what does it mean for the team? If you get two rotational players, that's good. If you can get a pick, that allows you to do more things. I think that's all part of it. You're always trying to think about what the possibilities could be," he said.

Thibodeau worked with Butler during their time at the Chicago Bulls and knew the risks that came with trading for Butler last year in exchange for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the No. 7 draft pick which eventually became Lauri Markkanen.

With Butler having just one year left on his deal, Thibodeau hoped his long relationship with the Marquette graduate could help Minnesota. In the end, it was to no avail as he dodged questions asking about his relationship with Butler since the trade saga began.

"I have known Jimmy a long time," Thibodeau added. "Obviously, we felt when we had the opportunity to get him that we had to take advantage of that. It is rare when you have the opportunity to get a top-10 player. We knew there was risk involved with it."

Butler averaged 21.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals in the 10 games he played for Minnesota this season. He is expected to make his debut for the Sixers when they take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

They most recently defeated the Miami Heat in a 124-114 win on Monday to take their regular season record to 9-6.