Minnesota Timberwolves Coach Tom Thibodeau Booed in Preseason Game

The Minnesota Timberwolves coach has lost some of the fanbase, thanks to the Jimmy Butler trade drama.

tom thibodeau minnesota timberwolves booed
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tom thibodeau minnesota timberwolves booed

Tom Thibodeau is starting to lose the Timberwolves fanbase if reaction at a recent preseason game can be believed. While the coach took the Timberwolves to their first playoff series in over a decade last year, the ongoing drama between the team and star player Jimmy Butler has soured more than a few T-Wolves faithful. 

According to tweets from several reporters who were at a preseason game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota, fans booed the coach during pre-game introductions. 

"There are not many people here for Wolves-OKC," wrote The Athletic reporter Jon Krawczynski. "But there were audible boos when Tom Thibodeau was introduced."

OKC beat reporter Erik Horne corroborated Krawczynski's account

"No waaaaay. Definitely heard some boos for Tom Thibodeau in intros here at the Target Center," he wrote.

The most recent reports out of Minnesota suggest that no teams have offered anything close to what they would want for their star player. While Butler has suggested several cap-favorable teams that could be a nice landing spot — including the Knicks, Clippers, Nets and Heat — none of those teams have offered enough for Butler. 

"We're not going to make a bad deal," the coach said earlier this week when asked about how the trade talks were going.

The saga has put Thibs at odds with more than just a few random fans. He's clearly in opposition to his own team owner, who has been pushing for a deal to get Butler out of town as soon as possible. Wolves owner Glen Taylor reportedly wanted a deal done before the beginning of preseason and sources within the building told ESPN that a trade is a foregone conclusion.   

"The owner's trading him," a source on the board of governors told ESPN. "That was made clear. It's just a matter of when."

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