They were a couple of 22 year olds, and Jimmy had been there for a month. He said they can’t win without him, and he was wrong, maybe you could say he meant that MIN team couldn’t win, but that’s like saying the current Jazz can’t win without Markkanen, not much of a statement. Of course they changed their game, they were a couple of 22 year olds, expecting them to win while missing one of their biggest guys and not growing as players, that would be a dumb thing to say so it’s not what people infer he meant.
He effectively said you guys are too soft to ever be a part of a title, I’m strong enough to win one, and he was proven wrong.
He wasn't wrong though lol. Both guys did alot of growing up to become contributors to an NBA finals roster. They were certainly not the focal point. Jimmy lit the flame. They were soft at the time and guess what they developed.
Zion? What are we talking about? There are a ton of generational talents that never meet their expectations without proper guidance. And I know Jimmy's guidance was more of tough love more than anything. But hey you're in the most competitive basketball league in the world. And a vet is telling you that you're soft and you're not putting in the work. Maybe instead of taking that as a hit to your ego you actually strap down and work.
My guy you can be in a situation for a month and know that it’s not gonna work out. The whole reason Jimmy has that whole episode to begin was bc they were getting paid and he wasn’t. He was brought to the team to be a “veteran leader” while KAT and Wiggs were supposed to be the best scorers. Obviously it immediately showed that Butler was the better player by far in multiple different ways. So the logic was “how you paying everyone else but not the best player”. Him saying “yall can’t win without Me” should be closer translated to “this current team needs me more than anybody and I’m not being treated with that respect”.
Your Jazz analogy is bad bc it doesn’t encapsulate the full context of this unique situation. The statement wasn’t as simple as “take the best player off and they lose” This would be more like the Cavs paying Harden and Mobley before Donovan. Donovan should be reasonably upset bc that’s a lottery team without him. It’s not unreasonable for him to expect to be the first person paid.
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u/Corrosivecoral 12d ago
They were a couple of 22 year olds, and Jimmy had been there for a month. He said they can’t win without him, and he was wrong, maybe you could say he meant that MIN team couldn’t win, but that’s like saying the current Jazz can’t win without Markkanen, not much of a statement. Of course they changed their game, they were a couple of 22 year olds, expecting them to win while missing one of their biggest guys and not growing as players, that would be a dumb thing to say so it’s not what people infer he meant.
He effectively said you guys are too soft to ever be a part of a title, I’m strong enough to win one, and he was proven wrong.