Jimmy Butler Wasn’t Re-Signed By 76ers Because Ben Simmons Got Jealous Of Him: ‘Management Was Worried How Simmons Would Handle Having Butler Around’

During the 2018-19 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves, pairing him with stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

The Sixers finished the campaign with a stellar record of 51-31 and looked primed to go on a deep postseason run.

However, the Sixers lost to Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2019 playoffs in seven games.

May 12, 2019, was the final date Butler, Embiid and Simmons played together, as Butler signed with the Miami Heat in free agency, a move the Sixers haven’t recovered from.

Butler, Embiid and Simmons should have been a lethal Big 3 for the next decade. However, the Sixers didn’t re-sign Butler in 2019 because Simmons reportedly got jealous of him.

Butler was the primary ball-handler for the Sixers in the Raptors series and that reportedly didn’t sit well with Simmons.

According to NBA insider Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports, “Simmons’ frustration at being relegated to off-ball duty during the team’s 2019 second-round loss to the Raptors contributed to the front office’s decision” not to re-sign Butler, who joined the Heat via a sign-and-trade deal on July 6, 2019.

In the seven-game series against the Raptors, Butler averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Meanwhile, Simmons put up 11.6 points, 7.3 boards and 4.9 assists per game and was held below 10 points in Games 2 and 5.

Brown’s decision to make Butler the initiator on offense was clearly the right move, as the Sixers almost defeated the Raptors and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001.

However, Simmons supposedly wasn’t a fan of playing second fiddle behind Butler and privately complained about it. Since he was younger, Simmons was the player the Sixers decided to keep and that turned out to be a disastrous move.

In his first season with the Heat, Butler averaged 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists and led the team to the NBA Finals. Although Miami lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, Butler proved he’s one of the top players in the NBA and a player you can build a championship roster around.

Miami had been to two NBA Finals with Butler. 

Without Butler, Simmons and the Sixers were mediocre in 2019-20. They finished as the sixth seed in the East and lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.

Even though Simmons didn’t play against the Celtics due to a knee injury, his lack of scoring skills likely would have hurt Philadelphia versus Boston, which was certainly the case in the 2021 postseason.

The Sixers lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games. Simmons was an absolute joke in the series, averaging just 9.9 points and shooting 33.3% from the free-throw line. He also didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter in five out of the seven games.

Simmons signed a five-year, $177 million extension with the Sixers in July 2019. He’s only played in 172 games with the Sixers and Brooklyn Nets since signing that deal.

The Nets acquired Simmons from the Sixers in the James Harden trade in February 2022. Simmons has played in just 57 games with Brooklyn. 

Simmons appeared in only 15 games this season. He averaged 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 58.1% from the field and 40.0% from the free-throw line. 

Simmons was the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He’s made three All-Star teams, two All-Defensive teams and one All-NBA team. 

On March 14, Simmons underwent a successful microscopic partial discectomy to alleviate the nerve impingement in his lower back. The LSU product is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp next season.

Simmons has career averages of 14.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks. He’ll make $40.3 million in 2024-25.