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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler said he won’t play in Wednesday’s game against Utah “because my body is hurting,” but added that he intends to join the team for Friday’s game against Golden State.
Butler told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on Wednesday that he doesn’t want any soreness from playing in games after missing training camp to escalate into an injury.
“Because my body is hurting and I don’t want to go out there and risk an injury, people make stuff up?” Butler said in a text to Nichols. “What are they going to do when I show up and hoop on Friday?”
The Timberwolves remain stagnant in trade talks for Butler. While Houston, Miami and Philadelphia are among the teams struggling early that have an interest in Butler, there is a collective belief that Timberwolves president and coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t ready to seriously negotiate a trade yet, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thibodeau discussed with Butler and the team’s medical staff his absence for Wednesday’s game, and the team announced Butler would sit out for “general soreness and precautionary rest.”
Butler and his representative continue to express frustration in what they believe is Minnesota’s inaction in honoring his trade request, and they have been pushing owner Glen Taylor to speed up the process, sources said.
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