Jimmy Butler has reportedly “aggressively challenged” Sixers head coach Brett Brown‘s system.
Butler is said to have acted in a “disrespectful” manner during a recent film session.
Reporting with @ramonashelburne: Philadelphia’s Jimmy Butler has aggressively challenged coach Brett Brown on All-Star’s role in 76ers offense, complicating an already-tenuous chemistry among team’s Big 3 hierarchy. Story on ESPN. https://t.co/DYqEAZNzM1
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 4, 2019
Brown reportedly told people within Philly’s organization that he had no issue with the exchange.
Butler, a five-time NBA All-Star, will become a free agent this summer.
Per ESPN:
Brown, who signed a contract extension in the offseason, remains a popular figure with ownership and management. Around the organization, there’s an urgency for Brown and his coaching staff to stabilize the situation, sources said.
“What’s most — by a mile — lately, on my mind, is the growth of a team, and the cohesion and the ability to share in somebody else’s success,” Brown said after Monday’s victory over the Clippers. “The ability to communicate candidly, to coexist. That’s all I care about.
“We’re coming together. We have a new opportunity. You don’t just click your heels and throw Jimmy Butler in and everybody’s going to be playing the same way and style. It [doesn’t] work like that. So my job is to grow a team. Ben and Jo, Jo and Jimmy, go anywhere you want. Those four are huge. Playing together is what’s always, by a long shot, on my mind.”
