Getty Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler
Fortunately, it seems Miami Heat president Pat Riley may not have actually cursed out Minnesota Timberwolves president and head coach Tom Thibodeau. Or, at least not in the way that it originally seemed. While Riley and Thibodeau are apparently not seeing eye-to-eye on a potential Jimmy Butler trade, it’s resulted in things cooling off quite a bit.
So much so, that Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel revealed the Heat are reportedly not re-engaging with the Timberwolves on Butler currently.
The Heat, according to a source familiar with the dealings, “are not trying to re-engage” in the talks. The process, however, seemingly remains fluid in light of Butler’s recent behavior and comments.
It seems whatever did happen with Riley and Thibodeau has led to the talks of Butler heading to Miami taking a near-immediate turn. It’s become apparent throughout this process that the Timberwolves are asking for a huge haul in exchange for Butler, leading to most teams backing out of talks.
Rumored Riley-Thibodeau Conversation
Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel detailed the conversation between Riley and Thibodeau, according to the reports. As he revealed, it was former Heat broadcaster Jorge Sedano on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles who explained it.
On his radio show, Sedano, the former Heat television studio host, said, “Here’s what’s happening. There’s been a couple of different incarnations of this deal. The first one, the Heat didn’t want to take back Gorgui Dieng. Then, the next incarnation of the deal was ‘OK forget it, let’s just do it straight up, just for Jimmy on your end.’
“So they finally relented on Josh Richardson, they were giving them Josh Richardson. Then Dion Waiters was going to be the cap filler, and then a protected first-round pick. The medicals were exchanged, which, really, generally in the NBA means this is a done deal. And then, Thibs called back and wanted more picks. And Pat Riley literally — I was told — called him a motherbleeper and hung up the phone.”
Winderman went on to explain that sources have stated Riley did not react that way, although there’s been no update on the talks or the situation to this point. But regardless of the stance on both sides, there doesn’t seem to be any movement on a deal and at this point, it’s becoming more and more unlikely there will be.
READ NEXT: Jimmy Butler Trade: Four Realistic Deals for Timberwolves Guard