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Newly-introduced Philadelphia 76ers swingman Jimmy Butler says there is no hard feelings between him and his former coach Tom Thibodeau, noting his tough one-plus-year reunion with him as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves is something that just didn't work out.
“Thibs is my guy,” said Jimmy Butler, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “The world knows that. You know that. It was hard going through that with Thibs, but he knew what it was for the most part. I have so much respect for him and the organization they have… it just didn’t work out. I wish them the best.”
Despite the two-month fiasco that played out with the Timberwolves, Butler and Tom Thibodeau were seen cracking jokes and hanging out despite their clear impasse.
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Thibodeau's role as the team's president of basketball operations brought some conflict with Butler's desire, but the four-time All-Star still was amicable and willing to maintain his relationship with his longtime coach.
The dual hat-wielding boss tried to keep Butler in the roster, hoping a good record would change his mind, but after a poor 4-9 start to the season, there was no other route to take but to trade him before risking losing him for nothing in the offseason or a turbulent chemistry that had already started to show during a poor start to the season.
Butler and Thibodeau are likely to remain friends despite their caustic impasse this season, while Minnesota tries to make up for lost time and integrates Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless in hopes to make the playoffs for a second straight year after missing the previous 13 iterations.
