Jackie MacMullan: Jimmy Butler, 76ers on "thin ice"

[HotelVitale]

It's horrible reporting. So you don't want to name your sources, I get that, but what does being on thin ice mean? Are the 76ers going to trade him, are they unhappy with his performance, are they not going to even entertain signing him when he become a FA? It's like she has left a door wide open, so if anything happens that is not positive she can say. "See I told you he was on thin Ice!"

Though I'm not a native speaker, I'd say the meaning is obvious enough - you haven't yet 100% decided what you want to do, however you are not liking what you're seeing.

That's not what the expression means in English--it means that you need to be careful and step lightly since you're very close to being in big trouble (i.e. falling into the freezing water). It's a really weird expression for this situation because it implies that someone can punish you--you can be on thin ice with your boss or on thin ice with your wife etc, but in this case the Sixers really want to keep Butler calm and in the fold, and I doubt coach Brown or Elton Brand are about to loose their cool and blow up at him. My guess is the person meant to say 'tensions are getting higher' and just used the wrong expression, but maybe there's something more to it.

[NatiboyB]

It is starting to be too much smoke 76ers need to see if anyone is willing to trade for butler asap.

[WestGOAT]

Interesting this story comes from a Boston for life reporter.

Last time she reported on a team outside of Boston with the "LMA wants out of SA" it was completely BS.

Read on Twitter

Pop literally admitted she was right but alright

Maybe it was true for a time but when the report came out pretty much everyone denied it.

Man I don't get it why people double down on their beliefs when they are proven wrong. It's just an internet forum.

Just admit you were wrong and move on. No big deal.

[Homerclease]

You can choose to believe her or not, that’s anyone’s perogitive. But, Jackie Mac is no Steven A Smith. She’s one of the best in the industry and one of the most connected out there

[alessandrux]

It's horrible reporting. So you don't want to name your sources, I get that, but what does being on thin ice mean? Are the 76ers going to trade him, are they unhappy with his performance, are they not going to even entertain signing him when he become a FA? It's like she has left a door wide open, so if anything happens that is not positive she can say. "See I told you he was on thin Ice!"

Though I'm not a native speaker, I'd say the meaning is obvious enough - you haven't yet 100% decided what you want to do, however you are not liking what you're seeing.

That's not what the expression means in English--it means that you need to be careful and step lightly since you're very close to being in big trouble (i.e. falling into the freezing water). It's a really weird expression for this situation because it implies that someone can punish you--you can be on thin ice with your boss or on thin ice with your wife etc, but in this case the Sixers really want to keep Butler calm and in the fold, and I doubt coach Brown or Elton Brand are about to loose their cool and blow up at him. My guess is the person meant to say 'tensions are getting higher' and just used the wrong expression, but maybe there's something more to it.

That seems to be a pretty good explanation.

As another non-native speaker my interpretation (the one of many that seems to be the most likely one) of that expression in this context is that the Sixers maybe do not want to offer a five-year contract (or at least not the maximal amount) and that any offer smaller than the absolute max might not be taken well by Butler. And as retalation he might bolt (and take an even less lucrative offer) just because he might feel disrespected.

[getitdone323]

On thin ice in general based on the Minny narrative, but I wouldn’t describe him being on thin ice in Philly. Things are going well here. Embiid/Simmons/Butler have been great on the court together.

I agree about them being great on the court, but to me any issues he or philly's FO has is to due with $$. He wants the FULL MAX but i think most people on here would agree due to his age and injury history, hes not worth the FULL max he can be offered.

[RCM88x]

Read on Twitter

Pop literally admitted she was right but alright

Maybe it was true for a time but when the report came out pretty much everyone denied it.

Man I don't get it why people double down on their beliefs when they are proven wrong. It's just an internet forum.

Just admit you were wrong and move on. No big deal.

No. I cannot.

[GeorgeMarcus]

On thin ice in general based on the Minny narrative, but I wouldn’t describe him being on thin ice in Philly. Things are going well here. Embiid/Simmons/Butler have been great on the court together.

I agree about them being great on the court, but to me any issues he or philly's FO has is to due with $$. He wants the FULL MAX but i think most people on here would agree due to his age and injury history, hes not worth the FULL max he can be offered.

If the market shares your sentiment we might get away with a 4-year near max deal, which I would be thrilled with.

[the_process]

Jimmy about to bust the starters with only TJ Mcconnell as his teammate

That ain't happening in Philly. That is to say, Jimmy might try it; but if he did would get his ass busted by Simmons and Embiid.

[Mr Bulls]

I know, I’m just saying most people know she’s from Boston. It’s no secret or anything

She did write an article bashing Belichick a few years ago on things that weren’t even true and never corrected it. So not like she’s a homer.

Maybe she's only a homer for the Celtics.

it's rare I see you articulate thoughts that require over one sentence to be express. Step it up dude

[RCM88x]

She did write an article bashing Belichick a few years ago on things that weren’t even true and never corrected it. So not like she’s a homer.

Maybe she's only a homer for the Celtics.

it's rare I see you articulate thoughts that require over one sentence to be express. Step it up dude

Sorry bro. But that was only one sentence.

[DusterBuster]

On thin ice in general based on the Minny narrative, but I wouldn’t describe him being on thin ice in Philly. Things are going well here. Embiid/Simmons/Butler have been great on the court together.

Being great on the court together doesn't mean things are great off the court.... Kobe and Shaq, Kyrie and LeBron, etc.

[GeorgeMarcus]

On thin ice in general based on the Minny narrative, but I wouldn’t describe him being on thin ice in Philly. Things are going well here. Embiid/Simmons/Butler have been great on the court together.

Being great on the court together doesn't mean things are great off the court.... Kobe and Shaq, Kyrie and LeBron, etc.

It doesn’t “mean” that, but usually the two are intertwined. Beyond that, there’s no evidence to substantiate any off court problems.

[DusterBuster]

On thin ice in general based on the Minny narrative, but I wouldn’t describe him being on thin ice in Philly. Things are going well here. Embiid/Simmons/Butler have been great on the court together.

Being great on the court together doesn't mean things are great off the court.... Kobe and Shaq, Kyrie and LeBron, etc.

It doesn’t “mean” that, but usually the two are intertwined. Beyond that, there’s no evidence to substantiate any off court problems.

I would say the proof actually bares out there the two are not intertwined. That said, there's no absolute proof of it as you mentioned, but there's enough "whispers" and "smoke" that it makes people wonder.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Being great on the court together doesn't mean things are great off the court.... Kobe and Shaq, Kyrie and LeBron, etc.

It doesn’t “mean” that, but usually the two are intertwined. Beyond that, there’s no evidence to substantiate any off court problems.

I would say the proof actually bares out there the two are not intertwined. That said, there's no absolute proof of it as you mentioned, but there's enough "whispers" and "smoke" that it makes people wonder.

You’re saying you believe off court problems and on court performance are unrelated?

[DusterBuster]

It doesn’t “mean” that, but usually the two are intertwined. Beyond that, there’s no evidence to substantiate any off court problems.

I would say the proof actually bares out there the two are not intertwined. That said, there's no absolute proof of it as you mentioned, but there's enough "whispers" and "smoke" that it makes people wonder.

You’re saying you believe off court problems and on court performance are unrelated?

Yes. Players can hate each other and still play together on the court amazingly. Thats not even like a weird hot take or opinion, its fact proven by history....

[GeorgeMarcus]

I would say the proof actually bares out there the two are not intertwined. That said, there's no absolute proof of it as you mentioned, but there's enough "whispers" and "smoke" that it makes people wonder.

You’re saying you believe off court problems and on court performance are unrelated?

Yes. Players can hate each other and still play together on the court amazingly. Thats not even like a weird hot take or opinion, its fact proven by history....

Saying players can hate each other and still play together is true. Saying off court problems and on court performance are unrelated is not. The latter definitely qualifies as a hot take in my book.

[bondom34]

Not related to the topic, which I don't really buy, but listened to this today and learned Jackie has 6 toes on one of her feet. Random to know.

[jbk1234]

He's probably on thin ice in terms of the max deal he wants so badly. If he's pulling all this crap in a contract year, you've got to be concerned about what happens after you pay him.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J327A using RealGM mobile app

[homecourtloss]

Interesting this story comes from a Boston for life reporter.

Last time she reported on a team outside of Boston with the "LMA wants out of SA" it was completely BS.

This.

She doesn’t know anything about any team, let alone one outside of Boston. She is a complete hack and how she has a job is a complete mystery.

She says that Butler defends, makes the right decisions on offense, is tough and battles and likes to win...and he’s on thin ice becuse nobody likes those things? What is that?