Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been causing a ton of ruckus on ESPN lately.
Days after taking an apparent shot at Miami Heat star reserve Tyler Herro, the bellicose Beverley took aim at Jimmy Butler by asserting that the veteran hasn’t proved himself as an alpha on a championship team.
“Initially I said yes but now it’s no,” Beverley responded when asked if he thinks Butler can be the best player on a title squad. “That’s no discredit to his game. I love Jimmy. He’s a two-way player. He plays both ends off the floor. I just don’t think he can shoot the ball from the three good enough. He’s been the main catalyst. … When he was with Philly (Philadelphia 76ers), he wasn’t the main guy there. Obviously, he spent a little time with the [Minnesota] Timberwolves, couldn’t get it done there. In Miami, couldn’t get it done there. With the [Chicago] Bulls, couldn’t get it done there. And this is young Jimmy, so I don’t know if older Jimmy can do that.”
Beverley, 33, is infamous for stirring up drama across the league.
Yet, his recent take on Butler has been supported by a few others. After all, Butler has been unable to fully guide the Heat through the conference finals due to knee inflammation.
Butler, 32, was the No. 30 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
The Marquette University product played on the Chicago Bulls for the first six years of his career. He helped lead the Bulls to some playoff trips; however, the organization shipped him to Minnesota in exchange for a package headlined by All-Star Zach LaVine.
Although Butler piloted the Timberwolves to their first playoff appearance since the Kevin Garnett era, he rapidly became a distraction in his second season with the team. Following a dramatic set of events, the Wolves sent Butler to the 76ers in 2018.
In Philadelphia, the journeyman battled alongside stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. However, the team narrowly lost in a mighty series against the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2019 playoffs. Then-Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard nailed a buzzer-beater in Game 7 of that series to sink the 76ers’ season.
Butler joined the Heat in the summer of 2019. He led the franchise to the 2020 NBA Finals in the NBA bubble, though they lost to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Now, Butler is trying to fight through injury to help the Heat back to the top. The six-time All-Star is averaging 25.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game in the 2022 postseason.