Thunder, T-Wolves facing opposite outlooks
MINNEAPOLIS — Billy Donovan is thankful. While he’s dealt with some turbulence since joining the Thunder, he’s faced nothing like what’s happening in Minnesota.
The box scores from Timberwolves’ first couple of preseason games looked normal, but look again. On one, All-Star guard/forward Jimmy Butler’s name doesn’t even appear. On another, seventeen names down the list is “J. Butler ... DNPRIGHT HAND.”
Yes, Butler had offseason surgery on his right hand, but that description in a box score doesn’t begin to dive into the reason why he’s not in a Minnesota uniform for Friday’s game against the Thunder. The ongoing saga in Minnesota continues to highlight the fortune and stability that currently resides in Oklahoma City.
“You never know what goes on in any other situation,” Donovan said Thursday,
making sure to speak carefully when asked about the Butler-Timberwolves standoff. “Everybody is always
dealing with something, everybody’s job is always challenging.
“There’s challenges for the players, the coaches, the front office. Everybody has got challenges. I think one is how you handle those challenges and two what you are grateful for and appreciate of.”
The Thunder has plenty to be grateful for. Paul George signed a four-year, $137 million contract with the Thunder in July, ending three consecutive years of uncertainty surrounding its core. Butler, meanwhile, arrived in Minneapolis in the summer of 2017 with just as much fanfare as George, yet his trade request is threatening to derail the Timberwolves after they made the playoffs last year for the first time in the last 14 seasons. Butler is eligible for an extension, but he turned down a four-year, $100 million offer from Minnesota in July, instead electing to hit free agency next summer.
In today’s NBA, the players have more control than ever. Boston fans felt relief when Kyrie Irving said at a Thursday night fan fest he planned on re-signing in the summer of 2019, but until players like Irving, Butler and Golden State’s Kevin Durant put pen to paper, there’s always trepidation. Unlike the NFL or MLB, a star leaving a franchise in the NBA can potentially cripple it for years.
Donovan knows better than most. In Year 1 in OKC, he coached with Durant’s free agency looming. When Durant left, Russell Westbrook’s future was briefly in question until he re-negotiated his deal before the 2016 season. Then, when the Thunder traded for George, it went through another season of free agency talk and murmurs of Los Angeles as George’s next stop.
Donovan’s plan, as cliché as it might sound, is to approach it seasonby-season.
“I’ve always been a big believer that every team has its own identity and its own history of itself — that one year together — and you don’t know what the future holds,” Donovan said. “Whether it be an injury, or someone leaving or not wanting to be here, or player relationships, coach-player relationships, there’s so many different things, and you know every single time you go through a year that chances are the next year it’s not going to look exactly the same. There’s going to be different pieces coming and going. That’s just going to be the way it is.”
Donovan can look at his situation far differently than his fellow northeastern native Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the Timberwolves who was the core reason Butler was accepting of a trade to Minnesota in the summer of 2017. The common belief now is that the Thunder knew closer to mid-season that George was coming back. Donovan is in the fourth year of a five-year deal with the offseason blessing of general manager Sam Presti. Donovan is paid to solely coach, unlike Thibodeau who has added pressure as not only the head coach, but the president of basketball operations.
Donovan has more tangibles to work with. Westbrook is entering his 11th season in Oklahoma City. Westbrook, George and Steven Adams are all guaranteed for at least the next three seasons.
Even then, Donovan says he can’t worry about even two years in advance. The Timberwolves and several other franchises in the NBA would love to have such tunnel vision. Instead, futures hang in the balance.
“What you try to do is (say), ‘OK, today I really enjoyed being around our guys, I really enjoyed working with them. So, I need to be grateful and appreciate the time I have today,’” Donovan said. “I can’t worry about what’s going to happen this July, or 2020 or 2025. It’s a waste of time. I need to enjoy what I’m at, where I’m at and what I’m doing, and I need to do the best I can, myself and our staff, to help these guys.”
THUNDER AT TIMBERWOLVES