Getty Philadelphia 76ers guard Jimmy Butler
The drama during the 2018 NBA offseason which focused around Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves was well-documented and talked about often. So when guard Derrick Rose released his new book ‘I’ll Show You,’ it wasn’t surprising to see the situation mentioned. And beyond that, Rose did his best to support Butler and pointed the issues to the league as a whole.
In a breakdown revealed by Michael Rand of the Star Tribune, it shows that Rose said that the trade request wasn’t Butler’s fault, and cited that the league has spoiled young players.
“Look, it wasn’t his fault,” Rose wrote of Butler’s situation and trade request. “It’s the league’s fault. Nothing against Karl-Anthony Towns, he’s cool — and he’s good. But you get these kids and you spoil them before they achieve something.”
One page later, Rose adds: “Jimmy was feeling, ‘Why’d y’all pay them first and I was the one that got you to the playoffs?’ That’s all it was. Jimmy wasn’t doing it right, though he was right.”
Rand also cites that Rose told Butler to make sure “not to lose your leverage” while also trying to help keep the team together during the drama surrounding the trade request.
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Jimmy Butler’s Infamous Practice With Timberwolves
Among the many other things Rose apparently spoke about in his book, the infamous practice when Butler reportedly played with reserve players was one of them. The Timberwolves guard states that the rumors and reports about Butler’s role in that were true.
Even beyond that, according to Rand and the Star Tribune, “it was killing” Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau.
Rose writes: “Scored one time in that practice they were all writing about. Yes, one basket. Right hand up to God. What’s so exciting about that? But the media is going crazy. You would think he scored 30. … It was killing Thibs, I tell you. He wasn’t saying anything to us, but you could tell he was taking it hard.”
As wild as the story seemed initially, there were more and more facts which came out that pointed to this being completely true, so it certainly isn’t surprising to hear Rose back up the report.
Jimmy Butler’s Trade to Sixers, Impact With Philly
Butler played in 55 regular-season games with the Sixers and saw his numbers dip a bit while playing alongside a starting lineup loaded with talent. Philly added Butler to play alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, then later acquired Tobias Harris via trade.
Although Butler’s scoring average (18.2 points) was his lowest since the 2013-14 season, he consistently stepped up big in late-game situations whenever his number was called. Along with his scoring, Butler was solid across the board statistically, averaging 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 46.1 percent from the field.
Butler’s numbers during the postseason were impressive and he stepped up to dominate in a few key moments and games. During the Sixers’ 12 postseason games, he averaged 19.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists while scoring 22 or more points in five of seven games in the series against the Toronto Raptors.
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