Jimmy Butler‘s grand entrance to Minnesota will be at Mall of America Thursday morning, but his first official interview was Wednesday with Timberwolves radio announcer Alan Horton.
“It feels great. A new home,” said Butler, who was in Paris playing Spades with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade when he found out he’d been traded from Chicago to Minnesota. “To be wanted here and to put on for this city now, I’m fortunate. I’m looking forward to it.”
Butler’s arrival in Minnesota puts him on a roster already featuring Andrew Wiggins and one of the NBA’s best big men, Karl-Anthony Towns.
“You got three really talented guys on this roster, along with some other ones,” Butler said. “They can teach me probably as much as I can teach them. I want them to know that if they go out there and be the best that they can be on both ends of the floor, nothing else changes – we’re here to win games, we’re here to play as a team. I just want everybody to play hard, man, and win. We can definitely do that.”
Just don’t ask Butler about who the face of the franchise is.
“I don’t play that game anymore. That was so far behind (in Chicago). I don’t talk about who’s team is it, who’s the face of anything. We’re all on a level ground, we’re all here for one goal and that’s to bring a championship to this city. I think we’re going to be locked into that. … I just want these guys to understand that I’m here to help. I’ll be the best that I can be on and off of this floor.
“It’s a new era, like they say around here. We’re going to lock in, we’re going to get this thing done. I’m here to show guys the way, but I need them to be right there with me.”
