The Jimmy Butler saga in Minnesota is over and done with, but some of the remnants of the drama still linger. Especially this past week when Jimmy returned to face the Timberwolves with his new Philadelphia 76ers squad.
They beat the brakes out of the young Wolves team. You know Butler wanted revenge.
Apparently, throughout the madness, Derrick Rose was the one helping Karl-Anthony Towns out. At least that’s what coach John Calipari told ESPN:
“I bet that environment was so uncomfortable for him. First of all, he and Jimmy are totally different people — how they were brought up, their likes and dislikes, how they approach competition. You have one guy on this side and one guy on the other side. There was a dogfight, and Karl’s not one to get into that. So, he stepped back.
Things happen. There are power struggles all the time in [the NBA]. If a guy can bully you, he will bully you. And that’s what Jimmy did to Karl. C’mon, that’s the league. Derrick is the one who got Karl through that whole Butler mess.”
In the article, D. Rose said that Towns is actually a young guy that listens and is so mindful of everything that he’s told him in the past.
Of course, Butler heard about the Calipari comments and had to respond:
“I don’t think bully is a good word. I tell it how it is. Whenever I was in college, I had [Marquette coach] Buzz Williams to tell me how it was. I didn’t have a bunch of McDonald’s All Americans like [Calipari] has. So, he can look at it a different way.
“He can call me a bully, but when [Calipari] sees me, I’m gonna confront him about it. If I’m a bully, I’m gonna bully him, too. I’ll tell him how I feel, just like I’d tell anyone else. I don’t care if he’s some big head coach. I’m not bullying nobody. I’m just keeping it real. Some of these guys aren’t used to it. When you have as much talent as [Karl] has had throughout his life, guys don’t keep it real with him. I do.”
Whether you still think KAT and Andrew Wiggins are soft or Butler was in the wrong in all of this, facts are that the situation between them didn’t work and not only did it break up the team, but it got coach Thibbs fired.
The two sides are now looking to move on to greener pastures. Who got the better end of the deal, though? Will Jimmy even stay in Philly next season?
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