Jimmy Butler’s agent credits Tom Thibodeau with helping springboard the rise to superstardom

Any sports agent worthy of the job prioritizes his or her client over the team. It’s about maximizing earnings and happiness.

Bernie Lee, who has represented Jimmy Butler since 2017, understood that when his client was racking up heavy minutes with the Timberwolves.

“Every player in the NBA, in some shape or form, is a depreciating asset,” he explains. But Lee also understood Butler’s mindset, and he learned quickly to trust Tom Thibodeau.

“Obviously, I want Jimmy to play in the NBA for 30 years because we’ll get through a year’s worth of contracts. But the reality is, everybody’s got a limited window to go get the things that they want,” Lee tells the Daily News in a phone interview before Game 4 of the NBA Finals. “Jimmy’s wired like this. And every great guy that I’ve been around is wired like this — Thibs is wired like this — would you rather have 30 mediocre years or 10 great ones? That kind of drives you to compete. It’s something you really need.”

To underscore his point about seizing opportunities, Thibodeau used Isiah Thomas as an example in a conversation with Lee. Thomas, a two-time champion and all-time great, played just 13 seasons in the NBA before retiring at 32 years old because of injuries.

“I don’t think he left anything on the table,” Lee says. “He went out and did it, and he did things that are going to be remembered forever.”

Butler, of course, hasn’t reached the mountaintop like Thomas but has also displayed no evidence of breaking down. At 31, he’s coming off a historic performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, carrying a Heat team that is emblematic of his own career: underdog, gritty, selfless.

The vast majority of the credit belongs to Butler and his maniacal work ethic. But Lee also gives a nod to Thibodeau, who coached Butler at two different spots (Chicago, Minnesota) and in six of his nine NBA seasons. Lee says Thibodeau’s straightforward and tireless approach established a standard for Butler’s ascension from an unknown 30th draft pick to superstar.

“One of my favorite human beings on planet earth,” says Lee, who represented two other players (Mike James and John Lucas III) who played for Thibodeau in Chicago. "Jimmy’s having a lot of success just based on the foundation that Thibs created for him.

“With Thibs, there’s no guess. It’s black-and-white. No grey area. He’s going to tell you, not only exactly what to do, but also how to do it. And the base is this — if you’re going to listen, if you’re going to work hard and work to the best of your ability to accomplish the things he’s asking you for, you’re going to have success. So it becomes like a very linear process and he’s never going [to] create unknowns, you never have to guess where you’re at with him.”

In today’s NBA of player empowerment, Thibodeau’s demanding style could fall under scrutiny or require adaptation. Kyrie Irving, for instance, recently declared that his Nets don’t always need a head coach, noting that himself and Kevin Durant could take turns guiding the team. Around the NBA, tough coaching is being replaced by relationship coaching.

But while Thibodeau reportedly clashed with players in Minnesota — Karl-Anthony Towns, in particular — Lee says he never witnessed any issues with the coach. He shoots down the idea that some players aren’t built to play for Thibodeau.

“I would actually tell you the opposite. I’ve never seen someone not get along with him. I think some of that is overblown as well. I think different guys have different degrees of success with them. You can’t have a problem with Thibs because you don’t have to guess in terms of where you stand with them,” Lee says. "And there’s an old-school mentality there where you can lie about a lot of things but you can’t lie to yourself. And Thibs is going to tell you about yourself. And if there’s something that needs to be corrected either you’re going to do it or you’re not.

“But again, I never really saw anybody have an out-and-out issue with him.”

Like many others who worked with Thibodeau, Lee sees the coach as adaptive with regards to player relationships and their need to rest. But whether a player is pressed or cocooned, very few are built like Jimmy Butler.

On the Knicks, the lone possibility is RJ Barrett, who needs to improve his jumper, playmaking and defense before the conversation is furthered. Lee is from the same hometown as Barrett (Toronto), and sees the potential.

“I’ve been watching him forever and his mental makeup gives him every tool to do that,” Lee says. “He’s a special one.”

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