Jimmy Butler had a very busy Wednesday at Timberwolves practice.
Butler took the floor for the first time since he requested a trade last month and went about systematically embarrassing his teammates, particularly Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Butler reportedly yelled out “they ain’t s–t” and “they soft” at Wiggins and Towns, as he led third-stringers to victories over the staring unit.
“He can’t do s–t against me!” Butler exclaimed at one point when defending Towns in the post, per Haynes. Towns ultimately kicked the ball out on the possession.
Butler sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that aired on Sportscenter Wednesday evening after he blasted teammates — and both head coach/president Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden.
“Am I being tough on him? Yeah, that’s who am I,” Butler said. “I’m not the most talented player on the team. Who is the most talented player on our team — KAT. Who is the most God-gifted player on our team — Wiggs. Who plays the hardest? Me! I play hard. I put my body [on the line] every day in practice, every day in games. That’s my passion. Everybody leads in different ways. That’s how I show I’m here for you.”
Butler isn’t backing down or running scared of his teammates and management. Expect this latest outburst to speed up trade talks as the NBA season is set to begin on October 16th.
