Jimmy Butler spent the first six seasons of his career in Chicago before he was traded to Minnesota this summer as the Bulls kickstart a rebuilding process. Butler had become the face of the franchise, but his time in Chicago wasn’t without whispers of there being some discontent in the locker room and a bit of a divide at times between he (and last year Dwyane Wade) and some of the younger players on the roster.
On Tuesday, two of those young players got into a fight at practice when Bobby Portis punched Nikola Mirotic in the face, sending him to the hospital with facial fractures and a concussion. Portis was suspended for eight games, while it remains to be seen how long Mirotic will be out with his injuries.
Butler’s Timberwolves open their season on Wednesday night against the Spurs, but the former Bulls’ star was naturally asked about the incident and whether he was surprised by it, considering the reports that it was something brewing for some time between Portis and Mirotic. Butler wisely decided not to speak on his feelings about the incident, and instead joked that this time locker room tension in Chicago couldn’t be blamed on him.
In the video you can also hear the Wolves’ star speak first on Gordon Hayward’s horrifying ankle injury, before getting asked about the Bulls’ latest issue.
“Hey, all I know is I’m not to blame for this one,” Butler quipped. “I’m a just, I don’t know. I’m going to be quiet on the matter. Jimmy Butler is not the bad guy.”
He was then asked about reuniting with his old coach Tom Thibodeau, and whether anything had changed about their sometimes contentious relationship from their past days with the Bulls.
Not at all. Not at all. He’s still getting on my nerves every morning when I wake up. That love-hate relationship is still there. New color jerseys, lot of new faces for me and him, but we’re ready to go.
It’s a refreshingly honest answer from Butler, who didn’t try to lie and say everything’s perfect. He knows they’re going to have their spats, but he also knows Thibs is a very good coach who knows how to motivate him and the rest of the team, sometimes through messages or workouts that are otherwise frustrating.
