My phone is in my back pocket right now, so whoever has anything to say to me feel free, 773-899-6071.
— Jimmy Butler, halfway through his introductory press conference
Sitting at the bottom floor of the rotunda in Mall of America, with scores of Minnesota Timberwolves fans looking down upon him from the floors above, Jimmy Butler made his phone number public. Not since Tommy Tutone released Jenny’s digits, sans area code, has someone’s phone number been broadcast so widely.
For someone who describes himself as “a kid from Tomball,” who smiled sheepishly every time someone yelled “I love you Jimmy!” from up above, and created a spot for himself in the league with tenacious defense and work ethic, it was a bold move. He’s getting calls from admirers now, but that could change if the Wolves culture and losing ways continue next season and beyond.
“I wouldn’t have done that,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who was in attendance, “but he definitely has the confidence of a superstar, so I’ll take that with me any day.”
He’s a superstar now, one of the 15 best players in the league, but he wasn’t always expected to be a member of a “Big 3,” as he is now with Towns and Andrew Wiggins. He was the 30th pick out of Marquette in 2011, and Tom Thibodeau, his coach then and now, admits he was a little hesitant to play him early on.
“The way he worked, that’s what makes him so special”
“The first opportunity that he got to play was in Madison Square Garden against Carmelo [Anthony],” said Thibodeau. “Luol [Deng] was injured. He had not played a whole lot up to that point, of course that changed over time, and he went in there and he played great, and for a rookie to do that that said a lot about him.
“Then the way he worked, that’s what makes him so special. You can’t do the things he’s done without having a lot of talent. But it’s his drive and his intelligence, and he’s never lost that.”
The Wolves are hoping that Butler can pass those qualities on to Towns and Wiggins, two No. 1 overall picks and Rookie of the Year award winners. Both players have incredible talent, but they also have glaring issues on defense.
Towns is considered a generational player, and is capable of packing the stat sheet offensively, but missed defensive rotations last year and was beat by opponents he should have locked down. Wiggins is an elite scorer for his age, but was considered the worst defensive player in the NBA by FiveThirtyEight. While there may be some flaws with the study, the Wolves believe that Wiggins is a capable defender who can benefit from Butler’s presence if he’s receptive to his mentorship.
“I better have a pretty big impact on that, since that’s the reason why I first started to stick in this league — because I was okay at defense,” said Butler. “Whenever you show them what defense can really get you in this league and how teams have turned around because they’ve played defense, I think you’ll really want to do it.
“And you realize, when you play both sides of the floor, that you are viewed as much more of a player, a complete player. That’s your way to greatness, and I think all of these guys are chasing that, greatness. So you’ve got to play both sides. So we’ll lock in on that end of the floor.”
Thibodeau and Butler are said to have a close love-hate relationship. Butler’s reputation is that he’s embodies Thibodeau’s ethos on the court, in the locker room and at the practice facility, and every coach wants a player who embodies their values.
Thibodeau is as close as you get to a football coach in the NBA. He howls, snarls and barks orders on the court, ruling by force of will as the Wolves’ president of basketball operations. He is often the sole voice of the organization, and he operates with Pentagon-level secrecy. He’s demanding and micromanaging. Intense and combustible. He can, unsurprisingly, also become tiring for young players that are learning on the job in front of thousands of eyeballs.
“Everybody’s going to get tired of Thibs voice every now and again, I’ll tell you that,” said Butler. “That raspy voice, I love it, but I hate it sometimes too. So that’s when I come in. I know what he expects. I know what I expect, and they probably know what they expect of themselves.
“You all are definitely my people. And I will be in this community to the best of my ability”
“But with that said, when you put me and him together, and we’re both teaching, preaching greatness, and the techniques of everything, it’s just crazy to think that I’m 27 years old and I’m old. That’s the craziest part. But I’ve got Thibs’ back, he has mine, and we’re going to be in this thing together.”
Thibodeau demurred when asked about his relationship with Butler immediately after the draft. His player was in Paris, playing spades with Carmelo, Dwyane Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union and likely was a bit bummed that he wasn’t catching a plane to Morocco to finish up the final leg of the trip. But sitting next to Butler on Thursday, he opened up about having a player on the court now.
“I talked to Jimmy about that, and we had the opportunity to build our team around Jimmy in Chicago,” he said. “When Derrick Rose got injured, we had no choice, and the more responsibility Jimmy had got, then the better he responded, so I know he has the ability to make other people a lot better.
“I watch what Karl and Andrew are doing every day, and what they have done is pretty special, and Jimmy has just gone through that, so I think he can share some of those experiences with them. Jimmy’s 27, so he’s just entering his prime. It fits perfectly with our team.”
The Mall of America press conference certainly was a drastic change from the Justin Patton affair that introduced the team’s draft pick at the Graves Hotel, and a far cry from the typical dinner table and hot mic post-game scrums, but it wasn’t quite the Not One… Not Two… Not Three… circus act in Miami after LeBron James signed with the Heat. It was appropriate: A mix of public and personal in a venue familiar to many Minnesotans. If you didn’t know any better, you might just stumble upon it on your way from the East Ramp to the Nickelodeon Universe.
The spotlight was on Butler today, and he seemed a little uncomfortable with it. That will change when he gets on the court, of course, but in some ways it was unsurprising that he gave out his number and FaceTimed with fans after the game. He expressed a desire to get closer to the people who will watch him on TV and in the Target Center stands, to be among them rather than above them.
“Y’all will see me doing the most in this city to make it the best place that it can possibly be,” he said. “I love my people. Anybody could tell you that. You all are my people. You all are definitely my people. And I will be in this community to the best of my ability.”
By giving people his number, he lit a fuse. The hope is that once it expires, there will be a ring at the other end, not another explosion.
