Minnesota Timberwolves

Jimmy Butler breaks his silence about his trade from the Bulls to Timberwolves

Published Jun. 25, 2017 12:10 p.m. ET

Chris Bahr

Jimmy Butler was dealt from the Bulls to the Timberwolves during the NBA Draft on Thursday – when he was vacationing in Paris.

He finally broke his silence about the trade – which was widely criticized in terms of the Bulls’ return – on Friday in a conversation with the Chicago Sun-Times.

“It’s crazy because there was me talking with guys about Cleveland, then all the outside rumors with Boston, Minnesota, Phoenix, then the feeling that I’m not going anywhere,” Butler told the Sun-Times. “I mean, I had so many people telling me what could possibly happen, but I just got to the point where I stopped paying attention to it.

“It’s crazy because it reminds you of what a business this is. You can’t get mad at anybody. I’m not mad — I’m not. I just don’t like the way some things were handled, but it’s OK.”

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Butler also would prefer if everyone would refrain from calling him the “face of the franchise” in Minnesota, where he will be reunited with former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

“It doesn’t mean a damn thing,” Butler told the Sun-Times. “I guess being called the face of an organization isn’t as good as I thought. We all see where being the so-called face of the Chicago Bulls got me. So let me be just a player for the Timberwolves, man. That’s all I want to do. I just want to be winning games, do what I can for my respective organization and let them realize what I’m trying to do.

“Whatever they want to call me . . . face . . . I don’t even want to get into that anymore. Whose team is it? All that means nothing. You know what I’ve learned? Face of the team, eventually you’re going to see the back of his head as he’s leaving town, so no thanks.”