Given the swiftness with which the 76ers’ blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves came together, and the magnetic personality of the principle player involved, there was a quality assortment of comments that emerged from Tuesday’s press conference introducing Jimmy Butler, and Justin Patton.
The event also featured Managing Partner Josh Harris, and General Manager Elton Brand.
Here’s a handful of quotes that stood out to us…
A competitive player with a burning drive to win, Butler acknowledged that, at times, he can be demanding on the court. He also shared his thoughts on who he is as a person, and teammate:
“You really wouldn’t know who I am unless you’re around me every day. For the most part, that’s why I don’t worry too much about what everybody says. If you know me, if you’re around me, you know my heart. You know how I go about what I go about. I love my teammates. I think I’m an incredible human being, teammate, and I’ll show that to the guys who are here.”
Not surprisingly, social media went bonkers when news of the Butler trade broke. Here’s how the four-time All-Star himself learned he was headed to the Sixers:
“It’s crazy, because it seems like everybody knows before the people who are supposed to know know. My phone was blowing up -- I was only waiting on two people to tell me that this was what was going on. But I had about 35 text messages before those two people I wanted to hear from actually contacted me. That’s actually how I found out. The rest was kind of history. The past few days have been moving so fast. To tell you the truth, I just want to hoop, I just want to play basketball. That’s what I love to do, that’s what I’ve done for the longest time, now. I’m excited about this opportunity.”
By adding Butler, who General Manager Elton Brand referred to as a superstar, the Sixers have created an intriguing trio of top-flight talent. What does Butler think of the idea of him, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons possibly forming a Big 3 of sorts?:
“I like the sound of it. It sounds really good. Now, we just got to go out there and make some things happen. Talk is just that. It’s just talk. When we get out there and play together, I think it will be a different story. Hopefully, a good one that ends with a happy ending. I think when guys get out there, and they know how to play basketball, which everyone on this roster does, it’s all going to fall into place. I don’t think that anybody’s going to step on anybody’s toes. I think everybody still has the same job to do, and everybody’s expected to be the player they always have been. That’s why I think it’s going to be so simple.”
During Brett Brown’s head coaching tenure the last five-plus seasons, the Sixers have assumed the respected reputation of a resilient, gritty team. Count Butler as one of the players who, previously from afar, has admired the culture the Sixers have created on Brown’s watch:
“Just how hard they play. I think that’s the one thing you notice more than anything. They play so incredibly hard. They want to win. That makes me smile, because that’s who a I am as a whole, as a person, every single day. It’s going to be fun to get out there and compete, and help win some games.”
In this writer’s opinion, one of the biggest things about Butler that stood out from his introductory press conference was that his remarks were sincere, authentic, thoughtful, and honest. When asked how important dollars-and-cents will be to his eventual decision about where he plays long-term, the 29-year old provided a refreshing answer:
“It’s not. I already got enough money to have me and my family set for the rest of my life. I got to be able to love where I’m at, and have a great chance to win a championship. I think for me, that’s what it’s about. I think this city is going to be absolutely amazing from the things I’ve heard. Obviously, I’ve played here as an away team plenty. I love what Josh and Elton are doing. I think they’re doing it the right way. That’s what matters. The people who are around here, and how everybody is treated, because basketball is just one part of it. To know that you’re wanted, that you’re always going to be taken care of, your people are always going to be taken care of, I think that’s what matters most to me, and a lot of other players in this league.”
Speaking of Elton Brand, seems like the Sixers’ GM, still less than two months into the gig, used the power of his many connections around the league to gather background info on Butler. Relational prowess was considered to be one of the qualities that made Brand such an appealing candidate for his new position, and right off the bat, it’s a factor that paid off big time:
“I spoke to many of Jimmy’s teammates, ex-coaches, management staff. What I got out of it was…in the locker room, they loved him. On the court, he’s demanding, he wants to win, and I can deal with that, our organization can deal with that, our players can deal with that, because they want to win. I talked to many of his teammates, and it was like, ‘He’s great, we loved him. On the court, he wanted to win. He pushed me to be better’ was what I was hearing. It was an easy call for me.”
One of Butler’s former teammates with the Timberwolves will also a new teammate with the Sixers. Justin Patton was included in Monday’s trade, and was also part of the 2017 deal that sent Butler from Chicago to Minnesota. We’ll let him have the final word for now on the 2016 Olympian:
“When the news came out, and I found out I was going with Jimmy, it was meant to be, because he’s a hard worker and a good leader to follow, so I know going into the situation, if I just look at what he’s doing, and follow his route, as I did last year, I’m going to be in the right place. When you got a leader like him, it’s going to make the transition easier to myself.”
Photos taken by Alex Subers, Maggie Zerbe