As a guest on The JJ Redick Podcast, Jimmy Butler relived the infamous Timberwolves practice from October.
Butler, who apparently dominated on both ends of the floor while playing with the third-stringers, told Redick that he only shot the ball one time.
The most interesting detail of that whole scrimmage that nobody knows: I only shot the ball once.
I was dominating, but I only shot the ball once. Dimes, boom, boom, boom. Steals, blocks. I only shot the ball one time.
According to Butler, Timberwolves management informed him that he had to practice that day, which “lit a fire.”
We’re literally just talking, and then somebody says: ‘You’re gonna practice.’ Now, first of all, I have a for-real problem with authority. When somebody’s telling me what to do as a grown man, I have a problem with it. So now you done lit the match, but ain’t nothin’ on fire yet. You just lit the match.
I was like: ‘First of all, you’re not going to tell me what I’m gonna do. If I choose to practice, I’ll choose to practice.’ And I’m like: ‘Nah, I don’t know just yet.’ And then he was like: ‘No, you’re gonna practice.’ Now you’re getting that fire a little too close to me, so I’m like: ‘Let me tell you something, if I’m going to practice, I’ll come off the bench, like I’ll play with this second group if I want to as long as I’m out there in practice.’ Boom.
This person goes: ‘No, you’re gonna play with the starters.’ There you go. You did got me now. No I’m not. I’m gonna play with the third-stringers, now what? I’m telling them I don’t think it’s a good idea to do it, because I know whenever I go in there, I’m trying to basically just prove a point.
I was on one, there you go. I was on one. All because he lit the match. I would’ve been cool otherwise.
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