Joe Horn wasn’t the only former star receiver to receive a celebration tribute this week. After intercepting Dak Prescott in the end zone Atlanta Falcons T-Shirt , Titans safety Kevin Byard paid homage to Terrell Owens by running towards midfield and celebrating on the star in the middle of the field. Back in 2000, Terrell Owens ran to the midfield logo after scoring a touchdown when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Like Owens’ celebration, a Cowboys player wasn’t particularly happy with the celebration on the star. Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones ran onto the field and pushed Byard and the rest of the Titans off of it.Maybe the Cowboys shouldn’t throw interceptions in the end zone if they don’t want players dancing on their logo.Terrell Owens noticed the celebration and gave Byard some recognition on Twitter. After the game, Byard said that he thought of TO’s celebration when he intercepted the pass:“I’m going straight to the 50. I’m going to let them know that we’re here to play ball,” Byard said. He was right, too. The Cowboys had all the momentum at the point, but the Titans scored on their next drive to tie the game, 7-7. They went on to hand Dallas its first home loss of the season, winning 28-14.He was fined for the action but didn’t seem to mind:We agree that it was worth it, even if coach Mike Vrabel disagrees. When the Minnesota Timberwolves first landed Jimmy Butler to team up with Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and, eventually, Jeff Teague Atlanta Falcons Hats , there was talk that the NBA had a new future superteam to deal with.And Minnesota showed enormous promise in the 2018-19 season, Butler’s first and only with the Wolves. Minnesota finished with 47 wins, but almost assuredly would have hit 50 and won the No. 3 seed in the West had Butler not been injured in late February. Though there were warning signs of unstable chemistry and stalled Andrew Wiggins development, the Towns-Butler partnership looked like a powerhouse that would change the West.Welp.Everything you need to know about the Jimmy Butler dramaJimmy Butler wants out of Minnesota. This is how we got here.Winners and Losers from the 76ers-Wolves blockbusterJimmy Butler’s ‘vociferous’ return to Timberwolves practice, explainedThe 7 most savage moments from Jimmy Butler’s interview with Rachel NicholsThe Timberwolves let the Jimmy Butler mess happenJimmy Butler was ruining the Timberwolves’ season, and maybe their futureInside the state of the 76ers before the Jimmy Butler tradeButler requested a trade this summer, and after nearly three months of needless but entertaining drama, the Wolves shipped him and Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers for Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and a future second round pick. It’s hard to know confidently whether that was the best the Wolves could do — we all heard about the Rockets’ purported offer of four first-round picks for Butler — but it is what the Wolves did. Now the Wolves and the rest of us have to figure out what success looks like.That was easy with Butler in town: success would be playoff berths, playoff wins, perhaps title contention. The Wolves’ slow march to respectability behind Towns was accelerated dramatically by Butler’s arrival: Minnesota went from 31 wins to 47 in a single year. Without Butler Atlanta Falcons Hoodie , where’s the target? Is it closer to 31 than 47? Is that even possible without major roster or front office repercussions? The Wolves are now 4-9, in 14th place in the 15-team Western Conference. Luckily for them, it’s early and they are only three games out of No. 8. Butler has been really good most nights he’s played, but his presence has been erratic and there’s no question he has been an immense drain on the psyche of the team. This season, Minnesota is 3-7 when he plays and 1-2 when he sits: bad all the way around. Last year, the Wolves were 37-22 (.627) when he played and 10-13 (.435) when he didn’t. Clearly, he’s a net positive on the talent level of the club.So losing him should drop the projected win total. Losing him should make the Wolves worse.Saric should rebound from a rough start to the season, and Covington should be a perfect Tom Thibodeau wing due to grit and high-skill defense. But they don’t make up for Jimmy, so we can’t expect these additions to get these Wolves where they were last season. Asking for a win total in the high 40s is asking too much, unless Wiggins breaks out or there’s another trade.If asking for a win total in the high 40s is too much, asking for a playoff bid may be too much as well. Denver missed the playoffs with 46 wins last season, and the West somehow looks even more competitive this year because the Grizzlies, Lakers Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , and Kings are all in the mix with no one but the Wolves falling out, assuming Houston’s early-season troubles are a blip.Where can Minnesota land in the standings this season without immense doom setting in? I don’t know that there’s a satisfying answer. They’ll fight, and maybe with Covington in place and everyone — from Towns to Saric to Thibodeau — having something to prove, they’ll surprise us.9 more Tom Ziller columns about the Jimmy Butler dramaJimmy Butler is ruining the Timberwolves’ season, and maybe their futureThe Timberwolves let Jimmy Butler embarrass themWhy is Karl-Anthony Towns getting less respect than ever?The Jimmy Butler situation is about to get really weirdWhy isn’t Jimmy Butler playing?Is Tom Thibodeau willing to get fired over Jimmy Butler?The Timberwolves are right to trade Jimmy Butler. They’re just doing it all wrongJimmy Butler is doing the Timberwolves a favor2 ways the Wolves can’t respond to Jimmy Butler’s trade demandIf not, the Wolves need to take real stock of the roster and consider much bigger questions. By the end of his contract, Towns will have been under Minnesota control for nine years (a four-year rookie deal and five-year max extension with no player option). We are in Year 4 right now, and it’s shaping up to be a disaster of some kind. The goal should not be to make the playoffs at all costs in Year 4 or Year 5, but to have a real excellent team — a contender — by Year 7 or Year 8. That gives time to flip or develop this roster into something more while still ensuring that the Wolves are something special well before Towns has the chance to ask for a trade in 2022 or 2023. Of course, if it’s possible to make the playoffs in 2019 and 2020 without sacrificing that higher-aim future, by all means, go for it. But the goal shouldn’t be to build a passable, good team in the wake of Butler’s ugly exit. It should be to build something amazing. That may mean sacrifice in the short term.Unfortunately www.authenticsatlantafalcons.com , the NBA isn’t built so much like that, and Thibodeau certainly isn’t built like that. Thibodeau’s future with the club is (or should be, at least) very much in doubt, so this may be a matter for the next brain trust. But the right approach is a comprehensive one, something that considers what success looks like for the Timberwolves not tomorrow or this season or even next season, but in the Karl-Anthony Towns era. The Butler gambit was a nice try, but egos and personality conflicts destroyed it. That doesn’t have to destroy the future, though.
