Jimmy Butler is loving life in Philadelphia and he’s not shy about saying so.
The former Wolves All-Star scored 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting in his home debut with the 76ers Friday night, and after the game he made a couple of comments that are being viewed as cheap shots as his former teammates.
“It’s so fun to win. So much more fun to play with these guys,” Butler said in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“Everybody wants to win, and when somebody messes up, you talk to them, they don’t take it personal and they do their job,” he added.
Home debut ends with a win, how's it feel?
"Lovely." 😁
Jimmy Butler helped the team to a win and caught up with @SerenaWinters after the game to talk about playing in front of the home crowd. pic.twitter.com/JddN5VrB8M
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 17, 2018
It’s possible that Butler was simply complimenting the way Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, J.J. Redick and all of his new teammates handle themselves, but it seems more likely that he was comparing his new situation to what he experienced in Minnesota, where it was widely reported that he didn’t like the way Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns operated.
If Butler wants to silence speculation like this, he should be a little more careful with his words.
Meanwhile, the Wolves are doing just fine without him, winning all three games they’ve played since providing Butler with the trade he wanted.
