Jimmy Butler on Leaving 76ers for Heat: 'Nobody Knows What Really Went On'
Many were surprised when Jimmy Butler chose the Miami Heat in free agency, but he recently indicated there were behind-the-scenes reasons for leaving the Philadelphia 76ers.
"Stuff just don't work out. Nobody knows what really went on in Philly and we're going to leave it that way," Butler told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. "But it was a great opportunity for me."
He refused to explain what happened when asked, but he noted there was an issue.
"Just go with your gut," the forward said. "You're not dumb. All of that will come out whenever it's time. Right now is not the time."
The 30-year-old spent 55 games with the 76ers after a midseason trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, helping the squad reach the second round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors.
He is now on his fourth team in four years, but things are going well so far with the Heat off to a 5-1 start.
Butler has been filling up the stat sheet in his three games, with 14.7 points, 7.3 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game.
"Motherf--kers act like I'm not a good basketball player," Butler told Haynes.
Meanwhile, the 76ers have played well without him with a 5-0 record, the last undefeated team remaining in the NBA. The squad re-signed Tobias Harris and then added Al Horford with the money saved by not retaining Butler.
Still, questions remain about what went wrong between Butler and Philadelphia.
The four-time All-Star indicated the other players weren't the problem, singling out Joel Embiid as a close friend. Something else apparently helped push him out the door and into Miami's open arms.
