On his first day in Philadelphia, Jimmy Butler made it clear that he thought he could fit into his new team without any problems. His new colleagues Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons also believe they can achieve a lot with the All-Star.
“If guys go out there and know how to play basketball, what everyone in this roster does, everything will work by itself,” said the 29-year-old at his official launch.
“I don’t think anybody’s gonna step on anyone else’s toes around here. I think everyone still has the same job and everyone is expected to be the same player as before. That’s why I think it’s going to be successful.”
76ers General Manger Elton Brand made it clear that the addition of Butler Philadelphia brings her closer to her goal of winning the title. “We have a title window and it’s important that we do everything we can to take advantage of it,” Brand said.
“It was important for us to get a superstar to help the young talents take the next step towards winning the championship. His goals correspond to ours and those of the city of Philadelphia.”
The Sixers GM threaded the trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Butler and Justin Patton in exchange for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a second round pick of 2022. This was officially confirmed on Monday.
Again and again there were reports that Butler had problems with his teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggens. However, he rejected any allegations in this regard and emphasized that no one ever publicly complained about him.
“I think if a player had a problem with me, he’d tell me the same thing. Unless everyone in my dressing rooms so far was just fake. I don’t think I represented a problem in any way,” Butler said.
The 29-year-old also added: “I don’t think I’m a bad team-mate, but people can say whatever they want. I think I’m an incredible person and team mate and I’m going to show it to the guys.”
Brand explained that he had spoken with several former players, coaches, leaders and employees of Butler’s former teams before he provisionally approved the trade on Saturday.
“They love him in the locker room. On the field, he’s demanding, he wants to win. I can handle it, just like our organization and our players, because they all want to win,” said the GM.
The Shooting Guard is expected to make his Sixers debut against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.