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Philadelphia Sixers forward Jimmy Butler has seen the vast difference between his new team and his former one, now able to add to a winning formula and propel a franchise to greater heights, instead of just reaching the playoffs.
“Night and day,” Butler told Shams Charania of The Athletic of his new situation.
While Butler holds no hard feelings toward his former young Minnesota Timberwolves mates, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, Butler was mired into a poor rapport with them after seeing them lack the fire he continually plays with on the court, one that ultimately opened the door for his ultimate exit from The Twin Cities.
Butler is similarly working with a pair of young players in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, but he sees way more promise in this tandem than his former one.
“Ben sees the game steps ahead, and Joel is a monster inside. So I’m envisioning what we can be,” Butler said.
The Sixers are just as excited about Butler as he is about them, noting the need for another star player became glaringly evident in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Boston Celtics.
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“We learned a lot from our series against the Celtics, and we felt we needed Jimmy,” said owner Josh Harris. “Since last summer, we’ve felt we needed a third elite talent. You don’t get a chance to get this talent every day. Jimmy wants to win, and Joel and Ben want to win. That’s the bottom line.”
The need didn't change this year, as losses to three of the conference's top dogs sounded the alarm for new Sixers general manager Elton Brand.
“When you can add a talented four-time All-Star, you got to do it and then worry about everything else afterward,” said Brand. “We already lost to Milwaukee, we already lost to Boston, we already lost to Toronto — we needed to take a shot, take a leap. That was my thought, my vision. Me and my staff, we talked to ownership and they had our backs. You get the talent first. Talent wins.”
So far, Butler had pushed the right buttons to allow Simmons and Embiid to flourish on the court while reaping the opportunity of being the go-to player down the stretch. A last-second 3-point bomb over the Charlotte Hornets proved just that, as Butler played spoiler to Kemba Walker's 60-point wonder and right into the hearts of Philly faithful.
