Few questioned Jimmy Butler when he shouted, “You f—ing need me, Scott,” at former Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Scott Layden.
“You can’t win without me,” he said.
Who would dare question Butler? The Wolves traded for him on draft night in 2017, and he led them to their first playoff berth since Minnesota’s Western Conference Finals run in 2003-04.
However, Butler didn’t fly home with the team and requested a trade. Head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau didn’t grant it, and Butler had spent the preseason playing pickup at LifeTime Fitness. The Wolves were about to lose Butler a year after they had traded for him.
Time always offers perspective, and Butler’s infamous practice feels different in retrospect.
Minnesota traded Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers, who flipped him to the Miami Heat after one season. Miami felt like the perfect home for Butler. The Heat had an experienced coach, a winning culture, and a roster that Butler led to two NBA Finals.
However, Butler also soured on the Heat. He forced his way out this year, putting up enough of a fight that Pat Riley traded him to the Golden State Warriors. It looked like the Wolves’ fault when Butler wanted out of Minnesota. When he wants out of Miami, it reflects more on Butler.
The Wolves didn’t have much pedigree. Chris Finch already has more playoff wins than Flip Saunders, and Minnesota has won more playoff games in five seasons with Anthony Edwards than in 31 without him.
Butler drove winning in Minnesota, but Miami won championships before Butler arrived. On Wednesday night, fans in Minneapolis realized something in the closing minutes of the Wolves’ clinching Game 5 win over the Golden State Warriors.
“We don’t need you!” they chanted at Butler as Minnesota closed out the 121-110 win.
It was petty and nonsensical. None of the players on Minnesota’s roster played with Butler, and he’s 35 and past his prime. A reporter asked Edwards and Rudy Gobert if the series win felt personal. Edwards said no because he wasn’t on the team, then looked at Gobert.
It might have been a little more personal for Gobert, but only because Draymond Green strangled him during a game in San Francisco two years ago.
Still, there’s something freeing about this regime’s approach to roster-building. Edwards is Minnesota’s star, but he elevates his teammates. The Wolves have become a sum of their parts, and unlike in 2017-18, their success feels sustainable. Their second consecutive run to the Western Conference Finals is evidence of that.
Ultimately, we learned that Butler’s outburst at that fateful practice was about money. Glen Taylor had looked Andrew Wiggins in the eye and trusted him with an $148 million extension, and the Wolves later signed Karl-Anthony Towns to a max deal.
Butler was playing out a $92 million contract he had signed with the Chicago Bulls before they traded him to Minnesota.
“Am I being tough on [Towns]? Yeah, that’s who I am,” Butler told Rachel Nichols in an interview after beating Towns with reserves in practice. “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.”
Butler wanted the Wolves to pay him what he was worth, but they paid Towns and Wiggins instead. Before this season, they traded Towns to the New York Knicks, and Golden State sent Wiggins to Miami in the Butler trade. They never became franchise cornerstones.
Minnesota won 36 games and fired Thibodeau the year after trading Butler. The Wolves won 19 in 2019-20, allowing them to take Edwards first overall in 2020. After years of searching, Edwards has become Kevin Garnett‘s heir apparent.
At 35, Butler couldn’t carry the Warriors without Stephen Curry. Nobody should have expected that from him. Still, it’s hard for an elated crowd not to take a jab at him. The Timberwolves have sent Butler home and are moving on to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row without him.