John Calipari: Rose 'got Towns through that whole Butler mess'

PHILADELPHIA -- IT WAS late November and the Timberwolves franchise was still staggering after Jimmy Butler had finally bludgeoned his way out of Minnesota. Questions persisted regarding the psyche of Karl-Anthony Towns, who, along with Andrew Wiggins, had been verbally eviscerated by Butler in a fiery (and now public) preseason practice.

Butler had just led that same young nucleus to its first playoff appearance in 14 seasons the previous April. But now he was gone in a trail of toxic vapor, leaving Towns and his teammates to hit the reset button.

Amid the turmoil, Towns' play was both underwhelming and puzzling. He oozed both talent and personality, but did he have the disposition to lead a…