When NBA Free Agency started this past summer many hoped All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler would resign with the Philadelphia 76ers, instead, he moved on to the Miami HEAT.
Butler is talking about the movie for the first time with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and he reveals that behind-the-scenes issues prevented his return.
“Stuff just don’t work out. Nobody knows what really went on in Philly and we’re going to leave it that way,” Butler said. “But it was a great opportunity for me.”
While Jimmy moved on he heard whispers about his character and abilities as a player which he also decided to address.
“Mother——s act like I’m not a good basketball player,” he said. “Like for real. Just think about that. Like I can’t come in and make a huge difference. I’m not going to say ‘carry a team’ because nobody can do it by themselves and I mean that. I’m not putting it all on myself, but I know what I’m capable of. I know what I bring to any and all situations, and the group of guys that we have is the group of guys that I want to play with.”
He also vouched for his new teammates who he says he sees a lot of himself in. Just because everyone isn’t a household name, that doesn’t mean they aren’t as good as those teams with names you may be familiar with.
“When I look down the line and as we’re talking about it as an organization on this roster, I know what these guys are capable of. These guys are built like me. We’re one in the same and so they’re only going to get better and they’re not going to get complacent. This is me. I see myself in every one of these guys around this locker room.”
So far the Miami HEAT is sitting at 5-1 and after a blow out win over James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Houston Rockets that was historic in numbers, Butler looks like he knows exactly what he is doing.
You can check out the entire interview here.
