We told yall a few months ago that Jimmy Butler wanted out of Minnesota.
Butler told everyone back in July that he wasnt signing the $10 million extensions with the T-Wolves because he was fed up with the nonchalant attitudes of young stars Andrew Wiggins and Karl -Anthony Towns.
Butler cant deal with the young stars playing Fortnite more than they grind and not having the correct mental approach to succeed at elite levels in the NBA and collect rings rather than hollow stats. Butler isnt looking to babysit or have contests of bravado at this juncture in his career. Hes craving a more professional situation with veterans who understand the price of playing in the NBA and the goals that should be priority. He’s also looking for as much money as he can swing.
Inevitably, after a meeting with Tom Thibodeau, Butler demanded to be traded before Media Day on Monday. When reports of Butler’s demands surfaced, a tweet war between Wiggins, his brother and Butler ensued.
Sports Illustrated on Twitter
So, about last night… https://t.co/BVooTKizdb
There was a disconnect from the very beginning between Butler, Towns, and Wiggins. You saw that with Butler in Chicago. He struggled to develop a rapport with the young players as they began a rebuild and reportedly the environment in Minnesota has been dysfunctional under Tom Thibodeau and his dual role as President and coach.
According to ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski, its been an environment thats described as joyless from top to bottom, throughout the organization.
Evidence of the type of things Butler is trying to stray from is the recent Twitter beef between Wiggins and former NBA veteran and 2003 NBA champion Stephen Jackson.
Jackson apparently ruffled Wiggins feathers when he stated that Butler had more heart than Wiggins in response to Wiggins’ brothers “Hallelujah” tweet. In fact, he said what many people believe, which is that Wiggins has hella talent but no heart, and if you remove Butler from the squad, youd be left with tons of potential and minimal grit.
my bad y’all don’t like the truth. I’m going to bed. Got 6am and . Love to all GN World. #GBG GetBetterGang
11k Likes, 1,104 Comments – Stephen Jackson (@_stak5_) on Instagram: ” my bad y’all don’t like the truth. I’m going to bed. Got 6am and . Love to all…”
Instead of taking the high road and proving Jackson wrong on the court, Wiggins fired back with some words that took it from a conversation about basketball to next levels of disrespect.
Sean Highkin on Twitter
https://t.co/7ZQJje87xe
I dont know if Andrew Wiggins did his homework on Jackson, a Port Arthur Texas product who came up rough with a band of brothers who look at crime as a rite of passage and are thicker than thieves with a cradle to the grave family mentality. Jackson doesnt seem like the type of dude to mess with. If Wiggins thought Butler was a bit outdated, then hes definitely entered into an old school realm by baiting Jackson. He’s from an era that doesnt play games on social media or choose to throw disparaging comments back and forth that have no relation to the game.
NBA Champ Stephen Jackson, “AKA” Rapper Stak5, Breaks Down Why The …
Rapper Stak5 is the godfather of Secret Society Entertainment, but he’s more infamously known as Stephen Jackson-the NBA’s Kamikaze kid with the wet jumper. In a nutshell, Jackson’s one of the most feared, ferocious, honest, and clutch NBA performers of this generation. He’s all about the grind.
Dudes like Jackson will just wait until they see you and address the situation. Jackson did have this one final response and if word travels quick enough, Wiggins will leave that situation alone. You can see its not that serious for Jackson who appears to be smoking something and in a very calm state as he gives his response to Wiggins.
Have a good yr lil one. This ain’t the smoke u won’t. God bless. Somebody @ Lil one for me. Wish u the best. #GBG #BoyStop #TruthHurts
13.5k Likes, 1,466 Comments – Stephen Jackson (@_stak5_) on Instagram: “Have a good yr lil one. This ain’t the smoke u won’t. God bless. Somebody @ Lil one for me. Wish u…”
This exchange between Jackson and Wiggins is the type of non-basketball related beef that has stunted the Timberwolves growth. In addition to that beef, there was a reported Love Triangle between Butler and Towns which has further fractured the relationship.
Robert Littal on Twitter
Internet Detectives Present Evidence That Jimmy Butler Hooked Up With Karl-Anthony Towns’ GF Which Caused Their Breakup & Was Part of The Reason Butler Demanded Trade (Tweets-IG-Pics-Vid) https://t.co/2dlsEEpGzp
Kevin on Twitter
AANNNNNNNND WERE OFF!
It’s a situation reminiscent of when Dallas Maverick stars Jimmy Jackson and Jason Kidd ALLEGEDLY had a fist fight in practice over Toni Braxton in 1996, which led to the breakup of the Three Js (Jimmy Jackson, Jason Kidd, Jamal Mashburn) and a fruitful future for the Mavericks.
Thibedeau has a lot of work to do to avoid seeing his Big Three broken up over personalities and immaturity. That dream appears to be a longshot at this point. As we’ve seen in the recently forced trades by Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Chris Paul, and Kawhi Leonard, when an NBA superstar gets it in his head that hes done with a team, nothing can change his mind.
(Thibedeau) has to get back in control of this environment, Wojo said, and try to convince Butler to be a part of this team at least for the foreseeable future and try to get back to the playoffs again.
