Jim Petersen just couldn’t hold it together during the opening segment of Fox Sports North’s broadcast of Wednesday night’s Wolves game.
Why was he laughing uncontrollably? General soreness.
Not his, but Jimmy Butler’s. As you’ll see in the video, Petersen cracks up right when play-by-play guy Dave Benz says Butler is out of the lineup “resting as a precaution against general soreness.”
“General soreness and precautionary rest” is the reason head coach Tom Thibodeau gave for Butler’s absence. The Athletic reported differently, saying Butler intentionally sat out as part of his plan to force the Wolves to trade him.
In case you’ve been under a rock for the last two months, Butler wants to be traded and owner Glen Taylor says he’ll do just that so long as Butler plays hard while he’s here, which he certainly did in a stunning performance against the Lakers on Monday.
ESPN’s Rachel Nichols reported that Butler denied The Athletic’s claim and said he really was dealing with soreness and needed to sit out to avoid the soreness turning into a more serious issue.
Whatever the case, Petersen thought it was hilarious, and it made for a fun start to a broadcast that ended with an emotional Derrick Rose crying tears of joy after scoring a career-high 50 points to lead the Wolves to a 128-125 victory.
