Sorry but 22 PPG 5 APG and 5 RPG is not the profile of a legit MVP candidate. Derrick Rose, regarded as one of the "Worst MVP winners in recent memory" won it with 25 PPG 7.5 APG and 4 RPG but the Bulls were the runaway #1 seed in the league( and they were tired of giving it to Lebron). So no...Butler was not a legitimate MVP candidate this year, anyway you slice it.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/mvp.html

Chris Paul is third on there with 19/5/8

Kyrie Irving is last with 24/4/5

If Butler played a full season, he'd be on that list.

So disagree with 99% of basketball fans on the definition of the term candidate? See, that makes more sense. Just come out and say that.

edit: Nas - Teague had a big game last night. Some of the biggest threes he has ever taken, and he hit them.

This was a net positive season for the Wolves. They got the playoff monkey off their backs and KAT took a step forward. Taj and Butler were positive influences and Taj played better than he has in about 4 seasons. I was wrong about that being a bad contract. Wiggins is still an idiot but it was nice to see him not make stupid plays down the stretch yesterday and even make a couple of clutch free throws.

With all the injuries in the West and me still not being sold on Houston I really believe that the Wolves are a Rubio away from having a chance to sneak out the West this year. That's on Thibs. Now they'll get swept.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/mvp.html

Chris Paul is third on there with 19/5/8

Kyrie Irving is last with 24/4/5

If Butler played a full season, he'd be on that list.

So disagree with 99% of basketball fans on the definition of the term candidate? See, that makes more sense. Just come out and say that.

edit: Nas - Teague had a big game last night. Some of the biggest threes he has ever taken, and he hit them.

So 1%=legit candidate? I guess Jill Stein was a legit candidate too.

He took a couple of bad shots and can't play defense or run an offense.

Butler played point down the stretch. We good.

one of the final 3 possessions where they were running a weak side pick & roll w/ Teague & Taj while the others stood motionless made me want to throw a brick through my tv

This is a terrible list.

Kyrie Irving is no doubt better than Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, or Nikola Jokic. So is Demarcus Cousins. I'm a Simmons fan but he isn't better than Embiid right now.

Joel Embiid is better than Butler and I'd still take Paul George over him as well.

This is a terrible list. There are other guys better as well.

Karl-Anthony Towns' relationship with the Minnesota Timberwolves has reportedly grown icy.

Appearing on Friday's episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN.com's Zach Lowe said Towns and the Timberwolves are "not in a good place internally."

ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, who joined Lowe for a lengthy conversation, later posited it would not be unheard of if Towns' name eventually surfaced in trade discussions.

"I don't think Anthony Davis is going anywhere any time soon," Windhorst said. "But Karl Towns...now that might be a different story."

Still, it's important to note there are no indications to this point that Towns could be on the move in the near future. Rather, this is informed speculation from a pair of league insiders who are looped in on fault lines that have surfaced within the organization.


While the Timberwolves finished last season 47-35 and booked the franchise's first playoff spot since 2004, it wasn't all pretty.

Not only did Towns reportedly grow disgruntled, but 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson said in March that Andrew Wiggins "whispered to teammates" that he was unhappy because he had become the Timberwolves' third option behind Towns and Jimmy Butler.

That said, Wiggins' usage rate (23.4) clocked in ahead of Towns' (22.9) and just behind Butler's (24.9) as he averaged 17.7 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field, including 33.1 percent on three-pointers.

Barring a shakeup this summer, the Timberwolves figure to run it back next season with the same core pieces since they already have $110 million in guaranteed salaries on their balance sheet for the 2018-19 campaign.

Everyone above says Thibs is the culprit. What about Jimmy? He came in and took shots away from Towns and Wiggins.

He did. That’s because he’s better than both of them.

He’s not the problem.

Wiggins contract is the clear number one problem and this was obvious last summer.

Everyone above says Thibs is the culprit. What about Jimmy? He came in and took shots away from Towns and Wiggins.