Jimmy Butler was all over the news on Wednesday after he ballistic during the Timberwovles practice, yelling at the GM saying “you need me” and beating the starters with the 3rd team players. All the animonsty comes from Butler wanting to be traded and not getting paid like center Karl Anthony-towns was. In fact, Butler reportedly yelled out "they ain't s--t" and "they soft" at Wiggins and Towns, as he led third-stringers to victories over the staring unit.
Well after this news broke of Butler’s intensity, the former Bulls superstar sat-down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols to talk about it.
“A lot of it is true," he said. "I haven't played basketball in so long. I'm so passionate. I don't do it for any reason but to compete. All my emotion came out at one time. Was it the right way? No! But I can't control that when I'm out there competing. That’s my love of the game. That’s raw me, me at my finest, me at my purest. Inside the lines.”
Butler acknowledged that he can be hard on teammates, especially Towns, but he said on Wednesday that the All-Star center started it all by talking trash to him, and Butler responded.
"Am I being tough on him? Yeah, that's who am I," Butler said. "I'm not the most talented player on the team. Who is the most talented player on our team -- KAT. Who is the most God-gifted player on our team -- Wiggs. Who plays the hardest? Me! I play hard. I put my body [on the line] every day in practice, every day in games. That's my passion. Everybody leads in different ways. That's how I show I'm here for you.”
Watch Jimmy break down the much-talked about practice (below) with Rachel Nichols.
