Jimmy Butler held his introductory press conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, and he left reporters and fans shocked when he gave out his personal cell phone number and challenged critics to contact him directly.
If you want to say you once had an NBA star’s cell phone number, here it is from the man himself:
Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler gives out his phone number at intro press conference and encourages critics to call him directly pic.twitter.com/gLxYVJWvx1
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 29, 2017
Of course, dialing that number either leads you to an error message or a voice mailbox that is currently full. Joon Lee of Bleacher Report was able to get through to Butler’s alleged voicemail recording, and the message made it seem like some sort of publicity stunt.
this is the voicemail you get when you call the number jimmy butler gave out at his press conference pic.twitter.com/2pXIBQbRfS
— Joon Lee (@iamjoonlee) June 29, 2017
“Jimmy Butler — sorry I couldn’t get to the phone, but leave your name and number, and I’ll hit you back. If you’ve got any beef, definitely leave a message.”
Does Butler always tell anyone who calls his phone to leave a message if they have any “beef,” or did he know this was coming? The latter seems far more likely.
Either way, that was pretty funny. You can understand why Butler felt the need to call out his critics given some of the reports we have heard about him this offseason.
