Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown clashed with Jimmy Butler during the lone season the two spent together. That led many to believe Brown wanted Butler gone, but apparently that was not the case.
The 76ers chose not to re-sign Butler on a max contract last offseason. Instead, they brought in free agent Al Horford and gave Tobias Harris a max deal. The end result was a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics. In examining what went wrong for the 76ers this season, Bleacher Report’s Yaron Weitzman shared an interesting piece of information — Brown was open to the Sixers re-signing Butler.
Sources told Weitzman that some within the 76ers organization acknowledged last summer that letting Butler walk could backfire. Executive vice president Alex Rucker was asked what the plan would be for closing out playoff games without Butler, as Brown had allowed Butler to play the role of closer. Eventually, Brown informed Philly’s brass that he would be on board with bringing Butler back.
Butler supposedly called Brown out in front of the team last season when he was unhappy with his role in the offense. Brown downplayed the incident and admitted Butler raised some valid points.
It’s no secret that Butler can be difficult to coach, but he’s a notoriously hard worker who wants to win. Brown may have even hinted recently that he believes Butler could have made a difference this season. It would be tough to argue against that, and it’s possible keeping Butler would have helped Brown keep his job. The coach is reportedly on the verge of being fired.
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