Jimmy Butler is not in Las Vegas for the USA Basketball mini-camp that opened Thursday, having elected to have a “procedure” — what the rest of us call surgery — on his right hand this week.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that it happened, but were not exactly forthcoming with details, other than it apparently was relatively minor and didn’t keep him off the court long.
NEWS: #Twolves Jimmy Butler underwent a successful, elective right hand procedure on Tuesday. Butler has already returned to offseason activities. Full Release: pic.twitter.com/t90O97nyRM
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) July 26, 2018
We don’t know what the procedure was, and the Timberwolves may have tried not to announce it at all had this not popped up on Twitter from one of the guys who is part of the Kings’ beat.
Friend of mine with some soccer students touring Pepperdine on Wednesday & they stumbled upon T’Wolves star Jimmy Butler in the gym - wearing a huge wrap or cast on right hand. I remember he was asked about wearing a wrap in playoffs on same hand & said it was for luck. 🧐 pic.twitter.com/v4I0gl5tyD
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) July 26, 2018
I'm told it was a bandage and not a cast on Butler's hand. And he only needed to wear it for 36 hours after the procedure.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 26, 2018
Butler not being in Las Vegas is not a big deal, the workouts are not mandatory and LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and others skipped the event.
It’s going to be an interesting season upcoming for Butler and in Minnesota. It’s no secret he is not happy with the Timberwolves, he has frustrations with teammates, and while he is a fan of Tom Thibodeau’s work ethic Butler has to know all those miles on his legs are not good for the length of his career. Butler is a free agent next summer, will the Timberwolves consider trading him if they don’t think they can retain him? Could they even get much for a rental of Butler?
And after a season where Minnesota took a big step forward and made the playoffs for the first time since 2004, can the team continue its rise or will things stall out in a crowded West?