Getty Images Jimmy Butler is losing interest around the league
The Jimmy Butler saga just won’t end this season. As the disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves star continues to beg for his way out, the team cannot find a reasonable deal. And now with all of the reports going around about Butler’s attitude as a teammate in the locker room, it seems as though teams aren’t even remotely interested in working something out to acquire the star forward.
The back-and-forth talks between the Timberwolves and the Miami Heat have been ongoing for over a month now. Butler set a target on Miami as his desired destination, but multiple deals have fallen through in the end. With the Heat slowly moving out of the picture, Butler has reportedly shifted his interest a bit over to the Philadelphia 76ers.
As we all know, the Sixers have been in search of adding another star player all throughout the offseason. They have had attempts at landing LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and were even rumored to try making a run at Paul George. But with their lack of a General Manager during the offseason, the team couldn’t convince anybody to sign here or even negotiate something without having to give up a big name like Ben Simmons.
With the regular season off to a slow start for the Sixers, they sure look like they could use a big-time playmaker on their squad to compete in the East. Could they make a run at an interested Jimmy Butler? Absolutely! The only problem is, they don’t want to.
The Interest Isn’t Mutual
Per league source, the Sixers have next to no interest in Jimmy Butler. Was told, “ his antics, in addition to asking price, make him undesirable.”
This in response to Butler’s reported interest in philly(@ZachLowe_NBA prediction column).
Team chemistry goes a long way for some teams. For the Sixers, that has been everything over the last year or two. As they continuously built through the draft and signed a new face here and there, a lot of their success in 2017 came from the team chemistry. Sure, they don’t have an established veteran that has seen long-term Finals success before, but that’s what they are trying to build with their home-grown talent.
Apparently, Jimmy Butler’s attitude wouldn’t sit right with the team. It comes as no surprise considering that last week Butler showed up to the T’Wolves practice facility and aired out all of the teams’ dirty laundry, and questioned specific star players motives.
Whether Butler was right to do so or not, it really rubbed other teams ownerships the wrong way. The Sixers being included. So for anybody waiting for a Sixers trade for Butler, don’t hold your breath. It’s not going to happen anytime soon.