ESPN Drops Click Bait Report About Jimmy Butler Being Unhappy in the Sixers Offense

There’s always something.

Below is my first, irrational take when the Jimmy Butler trade went down:

So, that’s pretty much how I expected the trade to play out and how the title of this article says things are going.

EXCEPT…it’s absolute click-bait:

“Butler has expressed a desire to teammates to play in more traditional pick-and-roll and isolation sets, rather than trying to find his place in the Sixers’ free-flowing offense, league sources said. In searching for answers, Butler has met privately with Brown and his coaching staff, as well as general manager Elton Brand, league sources told ESPN.”

I can’t believe they had that big huge click-bait title and then you open the article and it just says: Jimmy Butler would like to run more pick and rolls.

What a joke. This is ESPN trying to stir something up for some clicks. Going into this Big 3 experiment, it was presumed this would be a volatile situation with a possible ego war. This is the media’s attempt to stir something up knowing the topic could fester with the names involved. Media generated drama, just like the Wentz vs Foles debate.

I believe that Jimmy probably is unhappy with the role in this offense. I believe that he and Brett Brown have had discussions about expanding it. Lastly, I believe that Jimmy has a particular candor with the way he says things, which led to ESPN blowing this out of proportion.

Jimmy isn’t wrong, but when you sabotage practices to get your way, every action after that goes under a microscope.

Personally, I think both Brett and my mental health would like to see Butler’s role expanded. I’m not saying James Harden level usage but Butler has barely been a step above Andre Roberson standing on the wing for the Thunder.

The issue with Butler not getting the ball more is because he’s capable of playing off it. Joel Embiid gets plenty of post touches, but he can play off the ball too (and play really well in a PnR offense!). There’s one guy who can’t play off the ball and becomes a liability when he’s not in control of the offense. THAT’S the real issue. The Warriors co-exist with 4 stars because they can all play off the ball. The Sixers are barely co-existing with 3 stars because only 2 can play off the ball.

I’m not too worried about the stars on this team. Per usual, we should be well more worried about the role players on this team. It doesn’t matter what ESPN has to say about us.

By Aidan Powers | January 4, 2019