OAKLAND, Calif. – Jimmy Butler might play in both of the Timberwolves' back-to-back road games Sunday in Portland and Monday against the Clippers. Or he might play in one. Or perhaps none.
According to Butler, whether he plays for the Wolves is dependent upon how his body feels, and the only one deciding whether he plays is him. Butler made that much clear after Friday's 116-99 loss to the Warriors when he held his first media session since sitting out Wednesday's win over the Jazz with what coach Tom Thibodeau termed "general soreness."
It was an absence that set in motion a lot of speculation as to Butler's motives behind sitting out. Was he trying to send the Wolves a message? Was he trying to preserve his body to not jeopardize a potential trade the Wolves may make? Butler denied that after Friday's game.
There doesn't seem to be a predetermined schedule of rest for him; it's all dependent on how Butler feels. When asked who ultimately decides when Butler skips a game, he said, "I let them know."
Butler was the last Wolves player in the locker room as the rest of the team prepared to head to Portland for Sunday's game. Butler's other absence for "precautionary rest" came against Dallas on Oct. 20, when he remained in Minnesota as the Wolves played the tail end of a back-to-back set of games on the road.
Toward the end of his Friday session, most of which focused on the issue of his absences, Butler questioned the line of questioning.
"Why are you so worried about my injury?" he asked, then with irritation in his voice criticized the media's role in the reporting of this story, which is about to enter the eighth week since Butler notified Thibodeau of his demands in a meeting in Los Angeles.
Since then, Butler and his trade request have been the dominant story lines early in this Wolves season and promise to be until there is a resolution. When offered a chance on multiple occasions to clarify what specifically the media is getting wrong with the story, Butler has declined.
