The Timberwolves’ increasingly lost season of 2018-19 was punctuated by so many acute problems that a more subtle one barely made a blip on the radar.
Jimmy Butler’s trade request led to his uneasy return, leading to his eventual trade, leading to the firing of Tom Thibodeau, leading to a second half of a season where players were injured and/or in no hurry to return to the court as the Wolves hurtled toward the all-too-familiar draft lottery.
If everything that happened between Butler’s trade request and Thibodeau’s firing was an indication of a bad chemistry mix, the canary in the coal mine actually came much sooner — as described by veteran point guard Jeff Teague after a preseason loss to Milwaukee in October, in the midst of all the mess.