NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and More
Technically, this should be the NBA's offseason and the last of the dog days, but the basketball world is buzzing, as it seems to do year-round now.
Dwyane Wade is coming back for his 16th and final season, and the first training camps will open before the week is up.
Those items are set in stone. We're here to focus on ones that are a little more juicy.
Let's examine the latest additions to the Association's rumor mill.
Jimmy Butler To Discuss Future in Minnesota?
The Minnesota Timberwolves might feel like they're not allowed to have nice things.
This should be an exciting time for the organization. They not only snapped the league's longest playoff drought last season, but they also did so while winning 47 games.
And yet it's been an ominous summer inside the Gopher State, with murmurs of friction within the franchise. The latest rumor paints a troubling picture of the team's apparent reality.
Sources told The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski that Jimmy Butler will meet with president and coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden to "have honest conversations" about his future.
The four-time All-Star can be an unrestricted free agent at season's end and needs "to determine...if he is surrounded by the requisite talent in Minnesota to vault into contention."
Butler was a culture-changer for the Timberwolves, not to mention their best player on both ends. He paced them in points (22.2), steals (2.0) and net rating (plus-8.3 points per 100 possessions).
But his future uncertainty raises the stakes for Minnesota. If there are legitimate fears of losing him for nothing next summer, rival executives think the team might shop him by the trade deadline, per ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Timberwolves Owner Considered Major Offseason Changes?
Not to pile on the Timberwolves here, but Butler isn't the only person affected by the turmoil.
Wojnarowski explained:
"Owner Glen Taylor has significant concern with the broader franchise culture under Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden—so much so that Taylor considered changes in the offseason, league sources said. Taylor has privately second-guessed his decision to give Thibodeau full control of basketball operations as a part of hiring him as coach, league sources said.
"From friction within the locker room to the basketball operations group's poor relationship with the business side, Butler's looming free agency only elevates the stakes for Thibodeau's future."
Thibodeau is entering his third season with the team. While he's helped bump the win total by 18 over his tenure, the franchise may feel at least some of the growth was inevitable. After all, the second- and third-leading scorers last season were both recent No. 1 overall picks (Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins).
Plus, any potential discontent among players is Thibodeau's responsibility as coach and lead executive.
That doesn't mean he's on the hot seat now or necessarily will be at any point next season, but no one within the franchise faces higher stakes for the upcoming campaign.
Joakim Noah, Knicks Separating Soon?
In 2016, the New York Knicks inked Joakim Noah to a four-year, $72 million deal. The move was loaded with risk, as the former Defensive Player of the Year was coming off an injury-riddled, 29-game season. But the 'Bockers needed a big man and a defensive anchor, and if the 33-year-old could get healthy, he'd fit the bill.
That never happened. He's played 53 games over the two seasons since, although not every absence was health-related. He served a 20-game suspension for violating the anti-drug policy. He's effectively been exiled since January after having a heated exchange with then-coach Jeff Hornacek.
There might be a resolution soon, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania:
Trade calls feel like wishful thinking, unless the Knicks are prepared to attach assets to Noah. He's an been average-at-best player for the past several seasons (15.1 player efficiency rating since 2014-15), but he's paid like a star (two years, $37.8 million remaining, per Basketball Insiders).
The Knicks have no need for him. Had he returned for a third season, he'd have been buried behind at least Enes Kanter and Mitchell Robinson—and perhaps Luke Kornet and/or Noah Vonleh—in the center rotation.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
