Jimmy Butler was supposed to be out of Minnesota by now. The All-Star wingman was supposed to be on his way to a new organization as the 2018-19 season started. Butler was supposed to be away from a franchise that presumably frustrated him. But it’s been about three weeks since he made his request to be traded and Butler is still a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He hasn’t been with the team in training camp or preseason games, so him arriving at a random practice seemed a bit odd. But, he still is a player under contract with Minnesota and he has some obligations. Butler decided to pull up to Timberwolves practice because that’s where he’s supposed to be anyway, right?
Jimmy Butler reportedly arrived late to Timberwolves practice but almost immediately made an impact. According to Chris B. Haynes of Yahoo! Sports and Amin Elhassan of ESPN, Butler played with the third string and they beat the starters.
Butler showed up to practice late and subbed himself into the scrimmage on the third team to go against the starting group, league sources said.
But Butler wasn’t done there. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Butler decided to go at teammates Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, head coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden.
All-Star Jimmy Butler participated in Minnesota's practice, a session that included him verbally challenging teammates, coaches and front office, league sources told ESPN. Butler was vociferous and emotional at times, targeting Thibodeau/Layden/Towns/Wiggins. Story soon on ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 10, 2018
At one point in a scrimmage, sources said, Butler turned to GM Scott Layden and screamed, "You (bleeping) need me. You can't win without me." Butler left teammates and coaches largely speechless. He dominated the gym in every way. Jimmy's back.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 10, 2018
Chris B. Haynes also provided additional information on the incidents between Butler and his teammates.
Screaming from the top of his lungs, Butler uttered taunts at his teammates, including “They ain’t [expletive]!” and “They soft!”, league sources said. Most of the players knew the invectives were directed at Towns and Wiggins, sources said.
Butler naturally wasn’t in the best of shape, but he held his own, league sources said.
At one point, Butler found himself guarding Towns in the post. After Towns received the entry pass, Butler yelled, “He can’t do [expletive] against me!” Towns ended up passing the ball out, sources said.
Neither Towns nor Wiggins confronted Butler at any point, league sources said.
Some players were motivated by Butler’s theatrics, but others were distraught and speechless, most notably Towns, league sources said.
When practice concluded, Butler stormed out of the facility and skipped stretching with the rest of his teammates, league sources said. Wiggins did give Butler a hand dap before Butler’s exit.
Towns then gathered the players in a huddle and gave a message centered on everyone keeping their emotions in check, league sources said. According to some of the players, the message felt empty.
The Timberwolves were warned beforehand by Butler that the situation could get uglier if he wasn’t traded before the season, league sources said.
Some players were reportedly confused but there was also a sense around the Wolves that this practice was one of the best they’ve had since the preseason started.
Interestingly enough, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols was actually at Timberwolves practice and she was able to sit down with Jimmy Butler. The T-Wolves disgruntled star did not hold back about what happened. He cited his commitment to winning and being the best as the main source of his frustration with the Wolves.
Jimmy Butler told @Rachel__Nichols the problem in Minnesota is that everyone's No. 1 priority isn't winning. pic.twitter.com/JK72PQpBra
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 10, 2018
Jimmy Butler talked to @Rachel__Nichols about the incident with Karl-Anthony Towns during practice today. pic.twitter.com/Rje1IIV2oH
— ESPN (@espn) October 10, 2018
