New year, same Jimmy Butler.
The Philadelphia 76ers guard has been causing trouble in the locker room by defying coach Brett Brown, according to a report by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski.
Butler has reportedly challenged Brown about his role on offence, and was even classified as “disrespectful” by witnesses during a video session in Portland last week, in which the situation allegedly escalated to a point “beyond player-coach discourse.”
The 76ers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 129-95 on Sunday.
Shelburne and Wojnarowski report that coach Brown didn’t have a problem with the interaction, and thought it was fitting with the relationship he has built with Butler since the guard arrived in Philadelphia in November.
A source close to Butler downplayed the incident by saying Butler’s intensity can come off as combative while conveying opinions, per ESPN’s report.
The report also states that the guard has met privately with Brown – who is already in charge of managing a delicate relationship between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid – and manager Elton Brand about his views of the 76ers’ offence. Butler would be looking for a more traditional style of play instead of the unconstrained offence the Sixers currently display.
The 76ers have gone 14-8 since acquiring the guard from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 25-14 record. According to ESPN, Butler’s struggles to fit into the Philadelphia environment have caused some worries about whether he’ll fit into the team’s longterm plans, though the club is adamant about making the Big-3 (Butler, Simmons and Embiid) work this season and beyond.
Since joining Philadelphia, Butler has averaged 18 points, 3.2 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals – a decrease from his numbers with the Timberwolves in 2018-19, during which he averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals before the trade.
Butler missed the team’s last game against the Phoenix Suns as well as their practice on Friday with an upper respiratory infection, and is currently listed as questionable for their next game against the Dallas Mavericks.
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