Jimmy Butler Trolls Timberwolves After Loss, Waves Towel With Warriors Fans
Jimmy Butler didn't seem too unhappy with his Timberwolves' 116-99 loss to Golden State on Friday night as he waved his towel in unison with the Warriors fans celebrating their win in Oracle Arena.
The Timberwolves 29-year-old wing dropped 21 points in the loss after sitting out Wednesday's game against the Utah Jazz with "general soreness." The Athletic reported that Butler's decision to rest was the next step in his effort to leave Minnesota and be traded elsewhere.
Butler went 0–for–8 from the three and watched the finals minutes of play from the bench, where he was clearly content with trolling the Timberwolves.
The four-time NBA All-Star has been outspoken about his desire to be traded all offseason. Minnesota' ongoing efforts to find a suitable trade have been unsuccessful so far, and Butler's antics have only amplified the longer he's remained on their roster.
Butler did not practice with the team from the beginning of training camp on Sept. 25 until Oct. 10, when he showed up to his first preseason practice only to verbally attack coach Tom Thibodeau and generally manager Scott Layden. Butler had met with Thibodeau a week prior to the start of camp to request a trade.
He's averaging 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game so far this season.
The Timberwolves take on the Trail Blazers and Clippers on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday, Nov. 4 respectively, in a back-to-back games on the road. Butler told reporters Friday after the loss that he might sit out one of the Wolves' next two games, a decision Butler says will be up to him.
"I let them know," Butler said. "They don't know how my body feels. So if I'm nicked up, then you can count on that. I don't know. We'll see how it goes. I don't know what we plan on doing tomorrow. Obviously, I got to get some treatment along with a lot of other guys. But we'll see whenever Sunday and Monday gets here."
