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There have been very few NBA players who have spoken out about the Jimmy Butler-Minnesota Timberwolves situation. Understandably, it’s not an easy topic to just throw your opinion out on. Although a trade sending Butler out of town seemed likely up until around a week ago, things have shifted drastically since that point.
And recently, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George opened up on the topic during an interview. As ESPN’s Royce Young revealed, George supports Butler and admitted to being on his side.
“Jimmy has a very valid point, I’m on Jimmy’s side. It’s not coming from a place where he’s going against an organization. Jimmy’s a guy who, his whole career, has made it to the league off work, off him having to grind and scratch and claw to get to where he’s at. And then he sees the potential that he has around him and he just wants guys to match that.” George stated.
George went on to mention that he’s spoken to Butler and that “it’s not coming from a bad place” for the All-Star guard.
Butler’s Troubling Return to Practice
There have been rumblings of a players-only meeting which was called by Butler late this week, but prior to that was the ugly situation at practice. The 29-year-old apparently opted to return to the team and show up at practice, which led to a situation headlined by a frustrated Butler venting his feelings.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed, Butler was “boldly challenging teammates, coaches and front office executives.” Butler spoke to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on the situation shortly after and admitted much of what was said about the practice was true.
“A lot of it is true,” he said. “I haven’t played basketball in so long. I’m so passionate. I don’t do it for any reason but to compete. All my emotion came out in one time. Was it the right way? No! But I can’t control that when I’m out there competing. That’s raw me, me at my finest, me at my purest. Inside the lines.”
There’s been no update on a potential trade for Butler, and things have cooled off quite a bit over the past week or so. Time will tell, but for now, the guard may be set to remain on his current team at least through the start of the season.
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