Jimmy Butler: Playing with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons Is 'Great' Amid 76ers Drama
Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Jimmy Butler says playing alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons is "great" but admits the Sixers are still trying to "figure it out" after his arrival in a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in November.
Butler told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated he's consistently stressed the importance of communication with his teammates while everyone tries to find a niche:
"I think as long as everybody's honest with one another, which is what I'm telling everybody every day, like, if somebody has a problem with something or somebody, you just talk to them. You figure it out. And that's the only way we're going to win, when everybody is being transparent with one another and you know how everybody feels about every situation. You got to be able to talk. Communication is always going to be key."
In early January, Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported Butler had "aggressively challenged" Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown about his role in the offense and advocated for more pick-and-roll and isolation sets.
The report raised eyebrows after his infamous October practice with the Wolves where he verbally challenged general manager Scott Layden, head coach Tom Thibodeau (who Minnesota fired earlier this month) and teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, per Wojnarowski.
"You f--king need me, Scott," Butler allegedly said during the session. "You can't win without me."
Butler's stay in Minnesota lasted just over a year. He told Spears it was a "great chapter in my life" but said his focus now is getting things to work with the 76ers.
"We're still working out all the kinks of everything," he said. "Everybody trying to figure everybody out two months in and we still got a long way to go. The whole thing is just to win and figure out how we're going to win come playoff time."
Butler has averaged 18.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals across 25 appearances for Philadelphia. That scoring mark would be his lowest since the 2013-14 campaign with the Chicago Bulls.
The Sixers are cruising toward a playoff berth with a 28-16 record, but they'd like to improve their seeding during the season's second half. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for the top spot.
Getting Butler, Embiid and Simmons on the same page offensively is the biggest key to challenging the Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics for the East title.
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