Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler made headlines when he arrived at practice and reportedly defeated the team's starters with the third-string unit in practice. Not just because he was able to take a lesser talented group against the Timberwolves young stars in the second unit and win, but because of the trash-talking that occurred on the court.

Words primarily directed towards All-Star center Karl Anthony-Towns.

On Friday, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star forward Paul George weighed in on the situation in Minnesota, which seemed to have been spurred by the Timberwolves' reluctance to honor Butler's trade request.

George said:

“It's not coming from a place where he's going against the organization. Jimmy's a guy whose whole career he's made it to the league off work … Him having to grind and scratch and claw to get where's he's at … Then he sees the potential that he has around him and he just wants those guys to match that.

“I'm all for what Jimmy's trying to do over there.”

Butler has indeed made the most of his opportunity in the NBA. After being selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Butler rose from the role of a defensive stopper to team leader and go-to option by his fourth season in the league. When MVP point guard Derrick Rose was out with major injuries, Butler effectively became the face of the franchise by virtue of his all-around growth.

He averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game in his last three seasons with the Chicago Bulls, emerging as one of the top small forwards in the league. Known as a hard-worker who plays with all-out effort, he represents the type of player coaches and franchises aspire to have.

Conversely, while immensely talented, Towns and Andrew Wiggins don't seem to possess that same level of work ethic. If they did, the “it” factor George says they possess would be more even more pronounced than it is now.

The Wolves should be seen as a bigger threat than they are with the amount of talent they have on paper. However, they won't reach their potential without working passionately to be at their best and Butler knows that.

Whether or not his methods were ideal, the young Wolves should take heed to his message.