Jimmy Butler and the Philadelphia 76ers had a short term tenure after acquiring him from the Minnesota Timberwolves in November of 2018. Butler played 55 games with the Sixers and he made some clutch plays and he played hard as he earned the respect of the Philadelphia fan base.
However, he then took his talents to South Beach to join the Miami Heat in the offseason and he has given vague reasons why he left the Sixers organization. People can speculate all they want there, but the Sixers are not bitter or anything like that.
Instead, they congratulate him on his success and they realize that Butler could still be in Philadelphia if not for a bounce or four.
“I will tell you from afar, we see him, we’re glad that he was with us for a little while,” said coach Brett Brown. “Had it not been for a bounce this way or that way, we maybe could’ve went on to do something quite special, but we didn’t. He’s having a hell of a year. He’s an NBA All-Star and we congratulate him.”
Butler is averaging 20.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists for the Heat on the season and he is leading them to the 4 seed so far in the East with a 33-15 record. It is a bit surprising considering the preseason expectations for Miami.
The key that has made Butler so successful is that he has the ball in his hands. In Philadelphia, the offense runs through Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid with Simmons having the ball in his hands the most and that caused some issues within the franchise.
“He’s probably right where he should be,” Brown added. “He’s got the ball. He’s effectively their point guard more than he isn’t and that was the juggling act we had to experience in Philly. He’s that good and talented and Ben’s got the ball and at times there was a challenge to figure that out.”
The Sixers and the Heat matchup on Monday for the fourth and final time on the season. Miami has won two of the first three so that makes this one a must-win game for the Sixers. [lawrence-related id=24830,24823,24792]