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] ever been a part of" in the NBA. He shared one instance, in particular, that demonstrated how volatile that locker room really was.
"Everybody was pissed off, like upset," Carter-Williams said. "Like Jimmy wasn't getting along with Coach Hoiberg, so we had a team meeting early."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The meeting was held after a particularly frustrating game in which multiple players received technical fouls. According to Carter-Williams, Butler was upset Hoiberg didn't stand up for his players.
"Coach Hoiberg is like, 'Jimmy, this starts with me and you. What's going on? And then Jimmy goes, 'Well one, I think you're soft. Two, I don't like you," Carter-Williams recalled. "And he didn't even get to three, and Coach Hoiberg was like, 'Well f--- you, Jimmy.'"
Carter-Williams said he had never seen anything like that in a locker room before.
The Bulls finished that season 41-41 and fell to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, underachieving for what many thought a team comprised of Butler, Dwyane Wade, Robin Lopez, Taj Gibson, Rajon Rondo, and Nikola Mirotic could accomplish.
Bulls News
Butler was traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and a first-round pick that eventually turned into Lauri Markkanen immediately after the season.