Jimmy Butler gained the respect of the entire NBA by calling out KAT

Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and the rest of the Wolves starters got apparently blown out by Jimmy Butler and the Wolves bench in a 5on5 scrimmage during a Wolves practice. Karl-Anthony Towns was heard saying “Who wants the work” to which Jimmy Butler responded “Me.” During the scrimmage, Butler became increasingly frustrated with Karl when every time he posted up Jimmy he passed it back out.

This, combined with the fact that Jimmy and the bench beat the starters handily in the 5on5 infuriated Jimmy. He went on to say that KAT was the most talented, Wiggins was the most god-gifted, and he was the hardest working. He also screamed at the Wolves GM “you need me.” This, of course, was referring to the fact that Jimmy was almost traded to Miami a couple weeks prior.

When this story broke my respect for Jimmy Butler increased dramatically. His refusal to accept Karl-Anthony Towns’s effort is Mambaesque. And if I were a Wolves fan, this news breaking would get me more excited for the season than any other storyline they have had in recent memory. Butler is holding his teammates to a higher standard. And that higher standard is something that they were lacking before. Yeah, they have some talented players but they have come up short in recent years.

It is easy to say they have given it their all the last couple years and that the Western Conference is stacked and their young promising core has potential. But what Butler is saying ultimately is F**K That! Excuses are for the weak. The only way to reach their goal of winning an NBA championship is by outworking other teams. And that is precisely what Jimmy Butler is preaching. I hope from an impartial fan perspective that the Wolves go off this season. Whether or not they have the talent to stay in the conversation of a playoff team in the west is yet to be seen. But Jimmy Butler is gonna make sure that if they aren’t a playoff team it won’t be because of a lack of effort.