MIAMI – Wednesday marked the third time Jimmy Butler has faced the Timberwolves since the weeks-long soap opera that led to his trade out of town last fall.
Each time he does, a little bit more distance comes between him and the franchise that he uprooted, an event that had reverberations beyond Butler's exit to Philadelphia last November.
He's with the Heat now, and his current team lost to the new-look Wolves 129-126, and perhaps it was fitting that the team Butler faced Wednesday looked almost nothing like the one he left.
His exit and the drama around it led to the firing of coach and President Tom Thibodeau, which led to the hiring of President Gersson Rosas, who decided the Wolves needed a complete overhaul of their roster outside of only two people who were on the team when Butler was in Minnesota – Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie, and only Okogie suited up for the Wolves Wednesday.