Jimmy Butler had his introductory press conference with members of the Philadelphia media on Tuesday and it was all roses and butterflies when he was asked about his experience in Minnesota.
“The funny part about it is, all you hear is ‘sources say.’ You never hear a player say it. I think if a player had a problem with anything that they would,” Butler said when asked if he’ll be able to avoid locker room controversies in Philadelphia.
“Unless everybody in my past locker room was just that fake, I don’t think that I was that big of a problem at all.”
“Even after I was moved, I still had great conversations with them wishing them luck,” he added. “They’re incredible players but even better human beings. I’ll leave it at that.”
Butler’s exit from Minnesota was anything but picturesque. It was marred by numerous rumors about his relationship with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, at one point reaching a peak when Wiggins’ brother tweeted “Hallelujah” after seeing reports that Butler had demanded a trade.
The situation spiraled into training camp, which Butler skipped the majority of while also election to avoid participating in media day. He eventually got on the court in time for the home opener against the Cavaliers, when he was booed loudly during pregame introductions.
The drama continued with him missing two games because of “general soreness” and “precautionary rest” before being traded after the 13th game of the season, just four of which Minnesota won.
“I think that I’m an incredible human being, teammate and I’ll show that to the guys that are here,” Butler said Tuesday.
The 29-year-old All-Star echoed some of the things he said in his first press conference with the Wolves in 2017, saying he just wants to be in a place where he can win and feel wanted.
“I gotta be able to love where I’m at and have a great chance to win a championship,” he said. “To know that you’re wanted and that your’e always going to be taken care of and your people are always going to be taken care of, I think that’s what matters most to me.”
Apparently Butler didn’t love being in Minnesota, nor did he feel like it could give him a great chance to win a title. Maybe he didn’t feel taken care of by the Wolves either, as evidenced in his answer about how he found out he’d been traded.
“Everybody knows before the people that are supposed to know know,” said Butler, who was waiting for two people to inform him about trade news, presumably referring to some combination of his agent, Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Layden and owner Glen Taylor.
“I had like 35 text messages before the two people I wanted to hear from actually contacted me, so that’s actually how I found out.”
