One week after Jeff Teague told his version of what happened during the infamous Jimmy Butler practice with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018, Karl-Anthony Towns has provided some of the story as he remembers it.
“I mean much respect to Jimmy,” Towns began when asked about the practice during his guest appearance on NBA star Paul George’s podcast.
“We played and, uh, I was ballin, he was passing a lot. He got one free throw and then I know we had a moment where we was arguing with each other. He said some s***. I said some s*** back. I wasn’t going for that.”
All the while, during the heated practice, head coach Tom Thibodeau was smiling, Towns explained, noting that he and Butler were standing next each other while Taj Gibson shot free throws and “we started arguing back and forth right next to each other.”
“I said what I said. I loved what I said, too,” Towns recalled with a grin on his face.
Related: Jeff Teague tells ‘what really happened’ in infamous Butler practice
After the scrimmage, (Towns claims it ended on a late free throw), he remembers Butler “screaming at the people and everything” before he left and practice was over.
Teague’s version of the story provided a lot more detail, including saying Towns and Butler don’t like each other. But Towns said he came back the next day and tried to take the high road.
“We had the team meeting the next day. I pull Jimmy to the side, we talk. Told him what I’m about. I’m about winning and I’m not here for all that so if we about winning then I don’t really care about anything else that happened the day before. I’ll let all that s*** slide, all the rumors and s*** in the summer, I don’t really care as long as I can come to work and we can win games. That’s all I care about,” Towns explained.
“Things happened the way they happened. It is what it is. Could I have said more when I was younger at that point? I could, but I really cared about he organization. I cared about that shield, that logo we all wear in the NBA,” Towns continued. “I just was only about being professional. Could I have said something? Could I have said my truth and probably saved me a lot of stigmas and narratives and stuff, people playing on me? For sure. But I took the approach of a wise man. A wise man says nothing at all.”
Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers just weeks into the 2018-19 season and is now attempting to push the Miami Heat into the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons. And while Teague claims Towns and Butler aren’t fond of each other, Towns says they’re in a good place nowadays.
“I can say from then on, we had our differences but we seen each other at All-Stars and we’ve talked,” he said. “I think we at a cool spot.”
“I can’t hold grudges. I ain’t got no time for that s***,” Towns added, saying he hopes his response to Butler’s outburst helps fans “see the character that I hold.”
