The Jimmy Butler saga continues.
On Wednesday, Butler left teammates and coaches speechless with a dominant performance in his return to practice and called a players-only meeting a day later. Today, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that the Wolves' All-Star wing again practiced with the team and is expected to play in the team's season opener against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Minnesota's Jimmy Butler practiced again Sunday and is expected to play in season opener in San Antonio on Wednesday. Heat/Timberwolves talks have been dead, for now, league sources said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 14, 2018
This report comes just weeks after Butler met with Wolves management to request a trade . After making his request, Butler was excused from the team before rejoining it for practice this week. Per Charania, trade talks between Minnesota and Miami, who is said to have come close to making a deal for Butler , are currently dead.
The presence of Butler, who missed all five preseason games, was missed during the preseason, as the Wolves finished with a 1-4 record, losing by an average margin of 19.8 points. Following a 22-point loss to the Bucks Friday, Wolves All-Star centre Karl-Anthony Towns expressed his frustration with the team's play, telling reporters :
"We don't got no more time to be here saying, 'Aw, it's OK; it's preseason.' This momentum we're riding right now, this wave we're riding, it's not good. It's not good at all."
With the potential of Butler returning for the regular season opener, the Wolves look to establish momentum by starting the 2018-19 season off on a positive note.