Jimmy Butler's afternoon went about as one would expect after he invited fans to call him personally Thursday.
Butler, the longtime Chicago Bulls star, was traded last week to the Minnesota Timberwolves and made his phone-in offer during his introductory news conference at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
"My phone's in my back pocket right now," Butler said Thursday during his news conference, which was open to fans and was also televised. "If whoever has anything to say to me, feel free -- 773-899-6071. If you want an interview, there you have it, please do."
And judging by this tweet from Butler's agent, Bernard Lee, boy did people ever:
Me 10 years from now, "hey remember the time......." pic.twitter.com/MUlrZuPc4J
— Bernard Lee (@bleebasket) June 29, 2017
Butler also spoke to fans personally via FaceTime:
So Jimmy Butler is actually taking facetime calls from randoms right now. pic.twitter.com/2kLclvpJEz
— Adam Howes (@Howsito) June 29, 2017
According to ESPN's Michele Steele, the number wasn't to his personal phone. Earlier this week, Butler's team came up with the plan to reveal a cellphone number at the news conference. The phone either belongs to a member of his team or is a secondary phone that Butler uses less frequently.
Still, that hasn't stopped an Evanston, Illinois, man from getting bombarded with calls from fans who were looking for Butler but dialed the wrong number.
-- Brendan C. Hall
