Bulls Rumors: Jimmy Butler Deal Must Happen to Ensure Chicago's Future Success
Life's pretty good for the Chicago Bulls right now.
They have the fourth-best winning percentage (.632) in a putrid Eastern Conference, one that will provide a wealth of gimme games this season. Derrick Rose is back—well, on most nights anyway—and putting up 5.1 assists per night. Pau Gasol looks to be one of the best free-agent pickups this season.
One would be wise to buy stock in this team if they could. It's a bull market in Chicago after all.
In order to keep the good times going, the Bulls would be wise to make a big investment in Jimmy Butler at the next opportunity, considering they couldn't come to terms this summer.
According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the Bulls were unable to match Butler's financial terms prior to this season and the numbers apparently weren't very far off:
"There have been some reports on the negotiations between Butler and the Bulls, but according to Sporting News sources, the Bulls’ offer went as high as $11 million per year for four years. Butler was asking for $14 million per year, but would have been willing to negotiate downward to the $12.5-$13 million range.
Chicago, then, could have gotten Butler for a total payout of $56 million at most — or even something in the range of $50 million.
Now it appears it was the Bulls who were taking the gamble by not locking up Butler in October.
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It's a shame, as the fourth-year pro could command a larger chunk of change when he becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
Deveney's report might worry some fans, as it seems the Bulls were unwilling to commit to a big offer. With the statistical evidence from the early 2014-15 season rolling in, don't expect the front office to quibble over a few million again when it comes to Butler.
Butler, in spite of his surname, owns the United Center right now. His year-over-year improvement is remarkable.
| 2012-13 | 67 | 38.7 | 13.1 | .397 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| 2013-14 | 17 | 39.7 | 21.6 | .490 | 5.6 | 3.5 | 1.5 |
He's also becoming quite the potent player at rim. Butler is shooting 72.2 percent on shots from within three feet this year, up from 59.6 percent last year, per Basketball-Reference.com.
He's still struggling to hit shots from beyond the arc, but if he can climb back toward the rate he was knocking them down at in 2012-2013, life could get even easier for Butler when the ball is in his hands.
For a player who initially earned his keep as a defensive stopper out on the wing, the offensive production feels like a major bonus.
According to Deveney, multiple league executives believe his play could earn him max-contract offers.
If Butler's superlative play continues and those kinds of offers do come rolling in, the Bulls should empty the coffers—assuming the market dictates they must do so. Twenty-five-year-olds who make a significant impact on both ends of the court aren't exactly common specimens.
The Bulls would likely have to replace players like Mike Dunleavy, a free agent in 2015, with bargain-basement options—and hope young guns like 22-year-old Doug McDermott can fill the void.
With money committed to Rose, Gasol and players like Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic for the 2015-16 season, the Bulls could be hard-pressed to match other teams' potential offers, but they need to come as close as possible and hope Butler keeps the faith in the organization.
They would be wise to show the same level of commitment and belief the Utah Jazz showed in small forward Gordon Hayward, who is rewarding that franchise with a career year.
It's much better for the Bulls to lock up an in-house player rather than venture out into the open market. Lose Butler, and they run the risk of being unable to find a suitable replacement or perhaps encountering an undesirable Lance Stephenson-Charlotte Hornets situation, where a new wing player struggles to fit in.
Butler's controlled demeanor and ability to make plays while working within a system are not lost on center Joakim Noah.
"I know how bad he wants it,” Noah told reporters. “He plays for the right reasons, too. It’s never any forced shots, it’s always within the system, and he plays for his guys."
He does the dirty work required of any player in coach Tom Thibodeau's defensive system, which has the Bulls giving up just 101.9 points per 100 possessions, ninth-best in the league per ESPN.com's Hollinger rankings.
Pollakoff detailed one of Butler's better defensive efforts on this young season:
"Butler’s known as one of the league’s better defenders, and he had that part of his game on full display in Brooklyn on Sunday. He completely shut down Joe Johnson, holding him to just three points on 1-of-7 shooting, while holding his position well as Johnson attempted to back him down, often times getting deep paint position.
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A Butler-Rose tandem on the perimeter for the foreseeable future would go a long way toward making sure the Bulls remain competitive in the Eastern Conference.
Relying on Rose alone to guarantee the Bulls' long-term prospects is a dicey proposition considering his injury struggles.
He's already missed eight of 19 games this season and may never again reach the stratospheric heights he hit from 2009-2011. Rose is a phenomenal player, but it will take quite some time for the sense of unease surrounding him to dissipate.
Butler struggled with a foot injury last season, but Rose's woes are in a category by themselves.
The team's other impact players, like Gasol, Noah, Gibson and Kirk Hinrich, are either on the wrong side of 30 or nearing that age. Butler, with his work ethic and sense of self-belief, has a better chance to produce long-term than any of them.
"It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself," he told Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski in late October, when it became apparent a deal was not going to be made with the Bulls at that time.
The Bulls reportedly could have had Butler long-term for what now seems like a very, very good price. Now, it's likely going to take a great sum to keep him, but it's an investment worth making.
Butler already bet on himself once. In 2015, it's Chicago's turn.
Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.
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