Philadelphia 76ers forward Jimmy Butler challenged coach Brett Brown about his role in the Sixers offense, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Butler has been vocal in the past of his dislike of teammates and coaches, most recently in his previous stop in Minnesota. Butler clashed with Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and skipped practices and held out before eventually forcing a trade to Philadelphia. Butler is apparently disgruntled about not being the go-to option in the offense, behind Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Butler has played 31 games this season, averaging 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He has played in 21 games for Philly after a Nov. 12 deal sent a package centered around Dario Saric and Robert Covington to the Twin Cities.
The Sixers sit at 25-14, fourth in the Eastern Conference and just two and a half games back of the Raptors.
After the trade, Butler reportedly looked set to sign a major extension with the Sixers in the offseason. Now he has butted heads with two coaches in the same season, and after running himself out of Minnesota, the free agency market for Butler might be slimmer than he might’ve hoped.
