Jimmy Butler will be visiting Minnesota this weekend for the first time since the Timberwolves traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers, and he has a pretty good idea of what the reception is going to be like. Believe it or not, he is actually looking forward to it.
Butler told Marc Stein of the New York Times this week that he knows T-Wolves fans are going to boo him, and he said he doesn’t blame them one bit.
“I would boo me, too,” Butler said. “I’m not going to lie to you.”
Those who know Butler aren’t surprised he is embracing the role of heel. In fact, he says he will have some longtime friends in attendance who will probably be booing him along with the Minnesota faithful. In fact, Butler told Stein he “might actually join in on the boos” and genuinely enjoys it.
“I know what I’m about. I know where my heart is. People will say, ‘He’s this way, or he’s that way,’ but nobody knows except for the people around me every day,” he said. “Ask them and they’ll tell you differently.”
Timberwolves fans see a player who bailed on them when things weren’t going his way. Butler forced his way out of Minnesota by almost any means necessary, and he has thrown shade at his former teammates since arriving in Philly. The reception he gets on Saturday will undoubtedly be one of the nastiest of the season.
