When it comes to the ongoing rift between the Minnesota Timberwolves and disgruntled All-Star forward Jimmy Butler, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George is on Butler's side.
"Jimmy has a very valid point," George said when speaking to media members on Friday. "I'm on Jimmy's side."
Butler asked for a trade from the Timberwolves over the offseason, and then stayed away from the team throughout training camp until reportedly showing up for an explosive and emotional practice session on Wednesday afternoon.
The way George sees it, Butler isn't necessarily going against the Timberwolves. He just wants to see the same type of hunger and dedication that he has from his teammates, and from the organization itself.
"It's not coming from a place where he's going against an organization," George said. "Jimmy's a guy who his whole career he's made it to the league off work. Off him having to grind, and scratch, and claw to get to where he's at. And then he sees the potential that he has around him, and he just wants guys to match that. Because if guys are skilled, and have that 'it' like [Karl-Anthony Towns] has, that Andrew Wiggins has, they have that 'it' that a lot of guys don't have. Now they just have to match it with what Jimmy is bringing to the table."
Ultimately, George thinks that Butler just wants the best for the Timberwolves,
"I'm all for what Jimmy is trying to do over there," George said. "I talked to Jimmy a little bit on that, and it's not coming from a bad place. Jimmy's not going against an organization. He wants the best for that organization and he's trying to bring out everything for that organization to get to where they want to get to."
You can see George's comments on the situation below, via Royce Young of ESPN:
Paul George says he’s talked to Jimmy Butler about what’s going on in Minnesota: “Jimmy has a very valid point. I’m on Jimmy’s side.” pic.twitter.com/TJGWBepXcQ
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 12, 2018
At the end of the day, Butler said that he just wants to be appreciated.
"It just all goes back to telling the truth, and being honest with myself, me being honest with them, them being honest with me, and you just look at it and the whole thing is -- I just want to be appreciated," Butler said, via ESPN. "That's it. It's not about anything else. Everybody can see who it is, and what we're missing. Not the defense, not the points, it's the passion. It's the heart that I play with on every single possession. And that's all that it is. All that I'm asking from you is just be honest with me. Don't tell me -- just tell me the whole truth. Don't tell me half the truth, tell me the whole truth, and that's what it's all about."
