An unexpected face in Sixers’ coaches meetings? Jimmy Butler.
A four-time All-Star, Jimmy Butler is basically a basketball nerd, with a passion for talking X’s and O’s. And even though he may be booted from an occasional huddle, his input is greatly appreciated.
NEW YORK -- When 76ers coach Brett Brown has gone into the huddle during recent timeouts with his assistant coaches, somebody donning sneakers and not wearing a suit jacket has finagled his way into the group.
That would be Sixers forward Jimmy Butler, whose basketball IQ is off the charts - and he lets the coaches know it.
“I always have two cents to throw in,” Butler said with a laugh while talking before Thursday morning’s shootaround ahead of Game 3 at the Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets. The series is tied at one game apiece.
There are times when those two cents aren’t wanted.
“The majority of time Brett tells me to get out of his huddle, but I am still there,” Butler says while still smiling. “I tell him what I see and he tells me what he sees, and we see if it works.”
Butler, 29, is not ready to leave his day job, but loves the interaction with the coaches. Often what the coaches draw up depends on how Butler carries out the assignment.
He has a versatile game that allowed him to score a playoff career-high 36 points in the series-opening 111-102 loss to the Nets. Disappointed in himself that he had zero assists, Butler switched gears in the Sixers’ 145-123 Game 2 victory. He scored just seven points, but had seven assists.
A four-time All-Star, Butler is basically a basketball nerd, with a passion for talking X’s and O’s. And even though he may be booted from an occasional huddle, his input is greatly appreciated.
“First of all, it is enjoyable,” Brown said. “Any time you can have a high-level conversation with a player, you respect and appreciate it.”
Butler was traded to the Sixers on Nov. 12 from the Minnesota Timberwolves. According to Brown, the ongoing coach-speak with Butler is something that has gained momentum recently.
“The partnership is driven in a very, just sort of enjoyable way, [a] progressive way over the past month-plus, as the season has gotten more serious,” Browns said. “… It is a respected partnership, and I think especially lately, it has been especially effective for me to have another voice sharing ideas. And it has been enjoyable.”
Butler doesn’t just limit his appearances to coaching huddles.
“Sometimes I will go into a coaches’ meeting and it is moving on and you look up and he will be coming into it with a cup of coffee…” Brown said.
At some point Brown will inevitably ask Butler what he thinks. Not surprisingly, the two don’t always agree, but Brown still enjoys the debate.
“It is a civil, respectful, real conversation and it is one of my great joys of coaching when you can sit down and talk to your players like you can talk to your family,” Brown said. “And I mean this with all my heart, that is one of my great joys of coaching. When the conversation is that real and that sort of informative, I think we all get better for it.”