Wolves move on from Butler drama

MINNEAPOLIS — When Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless walked into their hotel rooms in Minnesota, they found appropriate gifts from Timberwolves AllStar Karl-Anthony Towns: winter coats.

After the overnight temperature dropped to 7 degrees, the newest members of the team by way of the Jimmy Butler trade with Philadelphia appreciated the welcome from Minnesota's best player. Butler's awkward and drawn-out departure created an icy atmosphere around the organization, but now that the deal is finally done, the Wolves have begun trying to warm the atmosphere back up.

"We can't wait to get on the court, put on that jersey and put it on for this city," Covington said at a news conference inside Target Center on Tuesday afternoon that carried just a bit less buzz than Butler's open-tothe-public introduction at the Mall of America less than 17 months ago.

As Butler formally joined the 76ers , the Wolves pivoted forward after a pressure-relieving win over Brooklyn on Monday night following an 0-5 road trip.

Neither Covington nor Saric played against the Nets, but they're on track to take the floor on Wednesday night against New Orleans. Bayless is injured, rehabilitating a hyperextended right knee, and with a glut of point guards on the roster he's not expected to see playing time even once he's healthy. Both Covington and Saric were starters for the Sixers, who finished third in the Eastern Conference last season at 52-30.