NBA Star Who Already Forced His Way Off a Team Causing Headaches for New Coach - Report
There comes a point in time when you start to realize that “they” are not the problem, but “you” are the problem — and many NBA fans think it’s time Jimmy Butler reached that conclusion.
This comes after reports of friction between Butler and his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Specifically, Butler “aggressively challenged” coach Brett Brown about his role in the offense, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski said Butler called out Brown during a recent film session, and some witnesses called the exchange disrespectful to the head coach.
Brown reportedly didn’t have any issues with what Butler said, but this is reminiscent of Butler’s last two stops, in Chicago and Minnesota.
While with the Bulls, Butler took an indirect shot at head coach Fred Hoiberg by saying the team needed “to be coached a lot harder.”
Not being on the same page with Hoiberg led to Butler being traded to Minnesota, where he was reunited with former coach Tom Thibodeau.
With the Timberwolves, the player-coach relationship wasn’t a problem for Butler. But the player-player relationships were.
Butler had a heated preseason practice earlier this season in which he openly challenged teammates while also calling out the Wolves’ front office.
Once the Timberwolves saw that the relationship wasn’t working out, they traded Butler to Philadelphia in November.
Now it appears the four-time All-Star is up to his old tricks, which has led to many hilarious reactions on social media.
Brett Brown: “Here‘s what I think the Sixers need to do on offense”
Jimmy Butler: pic.twitter.com/Pp6uzfGqlN
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) January 4, 2019
Jimmy Butler walking thru different NBA franchises like pic.twitter.com/KLfnahL1pk
— Jahan (@H00PINATI) January 4, 2019
Brown admits it has been a challenge incorporating Butler into a team with two other All-Star-caliber players in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
“We’re coming together. We have a new opportunity. You don’t just click your heels and throw Jimmy Butler in and everybody’s going to be playing the same way and style,” Brown said Tuesday, according to ESPN. “It (doesn’t) work like that. So my job is to grow a team. Ben and Jo, Jo and Jimmy, go anywhere you want. Those four are huge. Playing together is what’s always, by a long shot, on my mind.”
This current issue may be a short-term thing as the three players haven’t even had two months together as teammates. But this could grow into a bigger concern if Butler doesn’t see a future in Philadelphia.
He can opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent, although the Sixers acquired him with the goal of signing him to a long-term deal.
If Butler is unhappy and can’t get happy, which then results in him leaving in free agency, the Sixers would have mortgaged their future for a six-month experiment.
The two key players they gave up in order to acquire Butler, Dario Saric and Robert Covington, are both on team-friendly contracts that run through at least the 2020 season.
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