Jimmy Butler once told JJ Redick a secret about 2019 blockbuster trade saga: "I have a for-real problem with authority"

Before reaching the NBA Finals twice with the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler endured a startling saga with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In 2018, on "The JJ Redick Podcast," Butler opened up about the events leading up to his trade from Minnesota.

Butler divulged the details of an exchange with the Timberwolves' management with Redick, his former teammate with the Philadelphia 76ers and now the coach of the LA Lakers:

“It’s not really heated [with Wolves management]. We’re literally just talking, and then somebody says, ‘You’re gonna practice.’ Now, first of all, I have a for-real problem with authority. When somebody’s telling me what to do as a grown man, I have a problem with it. So now you done lit the match, but ain’t nothin’ on fire yet. You just lit the match." (22:35)

Butler told the team staff that he would practice with the bench players but not with the starting five:

“I was like, ‘First of all, you’re not going to tell me what I’m gonna do. If I choose to practice, I’ll choose to practice.’ And I’m like: ‘Nah, I don’t know just yet.’

"And then he was like, ‘No, you’re gonna practice.’ Now you’re getting that fire a little too close to me, so I’m like, ‘Let me tell you something, if I’m going to practice, I’ll come off the bench, like I’ll play with this second group if I want to as long as I’m out there in practice.’ Boom."

Butler was traded to the 76ers in 2019, before being shipped again in the following year to the Heat, where he made a mark as the team’s vocal leader.

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Report says Jimmy Butler prefers a trade over staying with the Heat

After five years with the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler could be traded once more. ESPN insider Shams Charania reported on Wednesday that Butler 'prefers' to be traded ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Charania said that there had been an escalation in Butler’s rift with Heat management following remarks by general manager Pat Riley about his availability with the team.

Butler is said to be open to a trade to the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors or the Dallas Mavericks.

Jimmy Butler has a $52 million player option on his contract, but it was also reported that he would turn it down after the two parties could not agree on an extension.