OAKLAND, Calif. -- Tom Thibodeau's summer from hell started in the back of a gym in Las Vegas. Long before Jimmy Butler demanded a trade from the Timberwolves, Thibodeau stood in a corner of the Cox Pavilion at the Vegas Summer League in mid-July answering questions from a small group of reporters.
As a mariachi band played behind him, the basketball lifer faced the uncomfortable questions he figured were coming. After brushing off one regarding Butler's potential contract extension that he didn't intend to sign, Thibodeau listened as the next query started about Butler and young star Karl-Anthony Towns' precarious relationship.