Jimmy Butler Admits Secret Conflict Led to Departure

It's been months since the Philadelphia 76ers re-signed Jimmy Butler just to trade him away to the Miami Heat. At the time, nobody knew what happened. Nowadays, the former Sixers rental still doesn't want to fully reveal what went wrong during the final days of his time with the Sixers.

While he won't detail the exact reason behind his desire to re-locate, Butler has been entirely honest about the situation as of late. Recently, during a sitdown with Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, Butler was very open about the sign and trade, which was practically forced by Butler, who had eyes for Miami for quite some time.

As Butler admits he "tried to get to Miami earlier than June," the veteran star pretty much confirmed what we might've already known. Before the Sixers were even working the phones to acquire Butler from the Timberwolves last season, Miami was considered to be the front-runners for landing Butler.

Unfortunately for the Heat, Minnesota couldn't find an offer they liked. Therefore, the attention shifted towards Philly, who was willing to depart with three players and a draft pick. Butler was welcomed with open arms in Philly by teammates and fans. And his desire to win, mixed with a tireless work ethic made the entire acquisition feel like a match made in heaven for Philadelphia.

After the draining second-round playoff loss though, relationships reportedly went South. That eventually led to Butler surely shifting his focus elsewhere, rather than wanting to sign with the 76ers long-term. He admitted in a YouTube video back in the summertime that he slowly soured on Philly. Then recently confirmed that something behind the scenes drove Butler out of town, and down to South Beach instead.

So what exactly happened? Well, that remains to be revealed. While Butler teases a behind-the-scenes controversy -- he won't paint the picture for anybody -- and neither will the Sixers.

“Stuff just don’t work out. Nobody knows what really went on in Philly and we’re going to leave it that way. But it was a great opportunity for me. All of that will come out whenever it’s time, right now is not the time."

Some speculate that Butler brought a familiar trend of his to Philly, where he couldn't get along with head coach Brett Brown consistently. Others say it could be because of a controversy between Butler and Sixers' star Ben Simmons. Perhaps, it has nothing to do with either, and something else happened that never came to light.

At this point, we're all left with nothing more than speculation. Regardless of what you may or may not believe, the Sixers seem to be doing just fine without Butler's services. On the flipside, Butler appears to be doing just fine himself as well. Unfortunately, the Sixers' rental didn't pay off the way they thought it would last season, but at this point, it's time to leave all of that in the past.