PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 16: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Utah Jazz at the Wells Fargo Center on November 16, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Jazz 113-107. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
It didn’t take long for Jimmy Butler to take somewhat of a subtle shot at the Timberwolves after his first home game with the Sixers.
Jimmy Butler said all the right things after he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers last week, finally freeing him from Minnesota — a place he made it very clear he was longing to get away from.
When the Sixers introduced him, Butler didn’t say anything too harshly about his former Timberwolves teammates. But it’s no secret his last few months in Minnesota were very chaotic, and Butler’s unhappiness with the team was the biggest cause of that.
After Butler played his first home game in Philadelphia — a 113-107 win over the Utah Jazz, in which he scored a team-high 28 points — he couldn’t help but let everybody know that he feels much happier with the Sixers than he did with the Wolves.
“It’s so fun to win and so much more fun to play with these guys,” Butler said.
He also added: “I love this group of guys. They want to win, and I think we’ll continue to do that.”
Butler is obviously a wildly competitive basketball player. He wants to win more than anything, and he knew there was no way that would happen in Minnesota. He couldn’t stand being caught up in an atmosphere where winning wasn’t everything. The Timberwolves have a good core of young players, like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. But the chemistry with Butler clearly wasn’t anywhere near what it needed to be to make them a contending basketball team.
That’s why the trade to Philadelphia couldn’t have been more perfect for Butler. He appears to be the final piece in completing the “process” that the Sixers have been working on for years. Now, he gets to team up with young stars in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz in an Eastern Conference no longer owned by LeBron James.
Butler is now playing for a title contender, and he clearly hasn’t forgotten about how much he hated playing for a Timberwolves team that just wasn’t quite there.