Jimmy Butler has his fair share of tales from his time with the Chicago Bulls, but nothing made more headlines that the constant disarray from the top down during an obscure season.
The now-Minnesota Timberwolves forward opened up about his relationship with head coach Fred Hoiberg, shedding even more light into their odd dynamic last season.
Butler noted the Bulls opted to go the Hoiberg route this offseason, choosing to rebuild this Bulls team around their young pieces and draft picks, shipping the All-Star wing to the Twin Cities during draft night.
Butler didn't see eye to eye with Hoiberg's on-court philosophy, a fault in their relationship which became apparent from the early get-go.
“That means like everybody knows me and Fred had some riff-raff,” Butler told Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports. “We didn’t agree on many things. And I think eventually, everybody was like, ‘Yo, they’re either going to build the team around Jimmy, or they’re going to go the route with Fred, the up-and-down, shoot a lot of threes or, you know…”
The Tomball, Texas native wasn't afraid to admit his faults, but cited their ideological differences were the ultimate reason why the two didn't click during their only season together in 2016-17.
“Look, I iso-ed a little bit (smiles). Yeah, I iso a little bit. And that’s not the way that Fred plays the game,” said Butler. “And that’s what I was saying, that it was either, ‘We’re going to build the team around me for a little bit and allow me to distribute the basketball, iso in pick and roll. Or you go with Fred' – go up and down, shoot a lot of threes, that type of stuff. That spread type – kind of Golden State-esque, you know what I mean?”
“They went that route, and that’s all I’m saying, and that’s fine. That’s what I was saying. Nothing’s wrong with that.”
The 6-foot-7 All-Star is now playing a different role, reunited with former coach Tom Thibodeau and off to a 7-4 start to the season, having won five of their last six outings.
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