Did Jimmy Butler call a players-only meeting with the Timberwolves or not
We don’t know what to believe anymore.
The Minnesota Timberwolves canceled team practice on Thursday after Jimmy Butler ran amok during Wednesday’s run. So what did Butler do? According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, he called a players-only meeting on Thursday, where he — and several of his Wolves teammates — aired their frustrations about one another and about Minnesota management.
Timberwolves All-Star Jimmy Butler called a players-only meeting today, airing his feelings toward situation and management, per league sources. Butler expressed to players he would compete with them, as signs pointing to him staying with the franchise into the regular season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 11, 2018
But wait, the Timberwolves are saying it didn’t happen?
About an hour after Charania’s report, several Timberwolves players denied that meeting ever happened, including starting point guard Jeff Teague, fringe player Darius Johnson-Odom and player development coach John Lucas III. Johnson-Odom later deleted his tweet.
@ShamsCharania it wasn’t no players meeting you just made that up bro y’all gotta relax with this fake news
— Jeff Teague (@Teague0) October 11, 2018
@ShamsCharania what meeting did you hear about
— John Lucas III (@Luke1luk) October 11, 2018
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And ESPN is doubling-down that it DID happen
The entire legitimacy of a players-only meeting was then in question, until ESPN confirmed Butler told Rachel Nichols a meeting happened on Thursday
Jimmy Butler confirmed to @Rachel__Nichols that he held a players-only meeting with Timberwolves players on Thursday, a day after he reported to the team for his first practice. pic.twitter.com/I90SyC1LdL
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 11, 2018
So did the Wolves have a players-only meeting or not?
Well, for starters, one of the premier news breakers in the business got the scoop, then Butler himself confirmed to ESPN that the meeting actually happened. So the meeting almost certainly happened. We have some serious and not so serious ideas on what could have went down.
1. Maybe Jeff Teague and Darius Johnson-Odom weren’t invited?
It’s hard to imagine those two players, specifically, would have been singled out by Butler, but these are the only players who publicly stated a meeting never happened.
What if Jeff Teague just wasn’t invited https://t.co/fboGdEC9UV
— Clay Merritt (@NotClayMerritt) October 11, 2018
Is it possible? Sure. It it likely? Nah.
2. Maybe a few Twitter accounts got hacked?
That would explain why Johnson-Odom deleted his tweet quickly. Teague is rarely active on Twitter and Lucas III tweets on average twice or three times a month.
Could someone have actually hacked these Twitter accounts? It’s possible, but it’s unlikely.
3. Maybe Jimmy Butler just broke the Wolves altogether?
Something’s fishy in Minnesota and it’s not the food. Even Gorgui Dieng’s gotten a little spicy on Twitter, firing back on a media member who suggested the Wolves trade him and first round picks to create cap space.
Keep my name out of your mouth. You always talk about me. If you want this money suit up then.
— Gorgui Dieng (@GorguiDieng) October 11, 2018
4. Maybe there actually was no players-only meeting?
Maybe Jimmy Butler led Rachel Nichols astray and fed Charania some real-life fake news. Maybe it’s all part of his master plan.
5. Maybe everyone is right?
It’s possible Butler sees himself as the only real player on that team and so he just met with himself.
STAY TUNED!