We know who the Timberwolves are now

A couple weeks ago, Jimmy Butler arrived at the Mall of America for his introductory Timberwolves news conference. Music was blaring and the crowd was estimated in the thousands. One man I talked to came all the way from Baltimore just to be there. Butler oozed charisma and star appeal — memorably, at one point, giving out his cellphone number to anyone who had a problem with him.

That introduction cemented the notion that the Wolves had acquired a true running mate for Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins — a no-doubt member of a "Big Three." Minnesota had tried to include Zach LaVine as part of a young Big Three before trading him to Chicago, but it always felt like a Big Two and maybe one more.

Monday afternoon, the Wolves had another introductory news conference — this one to welcome free agents Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson to the mix. It was held in the atrium of Mayo Clinic Square, the former Block E building adjacent to Target Center which now houses the Wolves' practice facility.

A smattering of non-media folks watched and applauded politely from the skyway level. As they took their seats between head coach/personnel boss Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden, Teague and Gibson looked quite serious. It seemed more like the start of a subcommittee meeting on a proposed new water treatment facility than a basketball news conference. It couldn't have been more different from the Butler experience.

That's not good nor bad — just an observation. The tone was set: These two guys are professionals, and they are here to play basketball.

Both are being paid quite well in the modern NBA economic scheme — Teague is getting $57 million over three years, while Gibson received $28 million for two years — but both also appear to be low-ego players driven to contribute while not needing top billing.

Teague, in particular, offers an interesting case. He takes over for Ricky Rubio — a charming personality and wizard with the ball who, himself, was once part of a "Big Three" along with Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love.

A secondary reason for the switch, though, might be the further establishment of a clear pecking order. As long as Rubio was here, the Wolves always were going to be in part his team molded by his identity.

For better or worse — most would say, at least in the big picture, better — we know who the Wolves are now. They are a team built around the emerging offensive talent of Towns and Wiggins, plus the two-way gifts of Butler, a player entering what should be the three best years of his career. They can't do it by themselves, but everyone else falls into line in support of those three guys.