Ex-Bulls player reveals shocking fight between Jimmy Butler and Fred Hoiberg: ‘F- you, Jimmy’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Free agent point guard Michael Carter-Williams added some crazy color to the well-documented feud between former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg and Jimmy Butler.
In an appearance on Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s podcast, “Thanalysis,” Carter-Williams described his lone season with the Bulls alongside Butler in 2016-17 as “the craziest season [he’s] “I was once a part of” in the NBA. He shared one example in particular that showed how volatile that locker room really was.
“Everyone was pissed off, like upset,” Carter-Williams said. “Like Jimmy didn’t get along with coach Hoiberg, so we had a team meeting early.”
The meeting took place after a particularly frustrating match in which several players received technical fouls. According to Carter-Williams, Butler was angry that Hoiberg did not stand up for his players.
“Coach Hoiberg says, ‘Jimmy, this starts with me and you. What’s going on? And then Jimmy says, ‘Well, one, I think you’re soft. Two, I don’t like you,'” recalled Carter-Williams himself. “And he didn’t even make it three, and coach Hoiberg said, ‘Well, you, Jimmy.'”
Carter-Williams said he had never seen anything like it in a locker room.
The Bulls finished that season 41-41 and fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics, underperforming what many thought was a team consisting of Butler, Dwyane Wade, Robin Lopez , Taj Gibson, Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic could reach. .
Butler was traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and a first-round pick that ultimately turned into Lauri Markkanen immediately after the season.
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