A battle that began months ago has finally reached its conclusion, as the Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Less than 15 months after being acquired by the Timberwolves, Butler has been moved again. The reasoning very different.
The Bulls realized a rebuild was necessary if they wanted to compete in the then Lebron James led Easter Conference. A package that included Jimmy Butler heading to Minnesota and Zach Lavine, Kriss Dunn, and the rights to Lauri Markanen going to Chicago was exchanged on Draft Night 2017.
Both teams envisioned success, only one team got it.
The Bulls have their young core intact with Lavine and Markanen leading the way while Butler forced the T-Wolves to get him out of Minnesota by any means possible.
Butler was not happy in Minnesota. A team that had raw talents like Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins seemed like the perfect match for Butler. Butler would lead the trio as the crafty and tenacious veteran while Towns and Wiggins grew into their roles as star players.
Butler was tenacious. Tenacious about getting out of Minnesota. A clash of personalities is what ultimately led to the split. Butler, Towns and Wiggins did not get along and Butler went far enough to express his thoughts to the Chicago-Sun Times.
“I just don’t think there have been many people that have understood how important winning is to me, man,’’ Butler told the Sun-Times in late April. “I just had a conversation about that very thing with somebody — not important who — but I put so much into this game, and I only play to win.”
The quote is a result of a league source saying Butler had been frustrated with the nonchalant attitudes of younger teammates — specifically Karl-Anthony Towns. The first public denigrating by Butler.
Minnesota finished 2017 as the eight seed in the Western Conference with a 47-35 record. A first-round playoff exit followed at the hands of the Houston Rockets. The loss did not sit well with Butler and, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, it created a rift between Butler and the team.
Towns played a part in the dispute as well when he said he could not coexist with his All-Star teammate. It was not until after Minnesota started shopping Butler, Towns signed his contract extension.
Andrew Wiggins chimed in on Butler's trade request by trading jabs with his then teammate. The back and forth began when Wiggins brother tweeted "Hallelujah" in response to the report.
Butler replied with a video of his own later that night with the same caption as Wiggin's brother. The video ended with Butler saying, "keep that same energy."
This caught the eye of Butler's teammate Andrew Wiggins which sparked him to reply with his own Instagram story.
"Old dudes stay hating like he was anything special bum ass ... I keep that same energy everywhere I go!"
Wiggins later changed the quote to read "SJ/Old dudes," to direct it towards former NBA player Stephen Jackson, who had defended Butler and criticized Wiggins and his brother for the decisions to post on social media.
Butler then met with Minnesota's front office and gave three teams he preferred to play for, the Sixers were not on the list. The Clippers, Nets, and Knicks were the teams Butler said he would sign an extension with but the Houston Rockets campaigned most aggressive for the 29-year old.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowskii, The Rockets offered four first-round picks in exchange for Butler. The most a team can offer, considering the league rules that disallow picks being traded in successive years and no pick can be traded further than seven years out.
Amid trade talks with Houston, Minnesota held their first practice with Butler since the summer drama. The practice was the first time Butler, Towns and Wiggins had been in the same building since the 2017 playoffs.
Throughout the practice, Butler challenged teammates, coaches and executives. Butler was boisterous and intense targeting coach Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Layden and teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns, according to ESPN.
Butler even went to so far as to yell at Layden, the team's GM, "You f---ing need me, Scott. You can't win without me."
Butler described his emotions in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols after the team's practice.
The aftermath of the practice carried over into the season with Butler sitting out three of the T-Wolves' 13 games with claims of being "hurt" and team accumulating the third worst record in the Western Conference to date.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' season has been a disaster and trading Butler was the only logical option. According to Tom Thibodeau, keeping Butler was not an option.
"We couldn't win with Butler in this dysfunctional environment," Thibodeau said in an interview with ESPN.
The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Robert Covington, Dario Saric and a 2020 second-round pick. Shortly after the trade, Adrian Wojnarowski reported Butler and the Sixers are expected to reach a long-term agreement this summer.
The trade pairs Butler with reigning rookie of the year Ben Simmons and All-Star Joel Embiid, who was consulted before the move. The trio hopes to be the next "big three" of the East and challenge the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins will meet their old teammates again on January 15th when the Minnesota Timberwolves travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers.
*preview photo is credited to ESPN
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