Chicago Bulls Must Pay Jimmy Butler Whatever It Takes This Offseason
Jimmy Butler will have a taste of what it’s like to be coveted when he hits the market as a restricted free agent this summer, but he won’t have long to bask in that glow if the Chicago Bulls’ front office knows what’s good for it.
Since general manager Gar Forman could not close the deal to extend the fourth-year shooting guard before the October 31 deadline, the franchise is going to have to pay whatever amount it takes to keep its budding star.
Butler’s performance over the course of the 2014-15 campaign has been very surprising. There were high expectations for him last season thanks to his strong offensive showing in the 2013 playoffs, but those hopes never materialized as he seemed stuck on the verge of breaking through.
It has been a very different story over the course of this run, because Butler has improved significantly in every major offensive category and established himself more as a team leader than support player. Certainly Forman will be pleased if he can keep the former Marquette Golden Eagle in Chicago, but he will not be happy with the fact that it could have been significantly cheaper had he been a little more flexible earlier in the season.
A missed bargain
The Chicago front office’s usual handling of soon-to-be free agents has been to avoid protracted summer negotiations and settle with players during the season. Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson are evidence of that modus operandi.
To the management’s credit, they seem to have a good idea of what the market value is for talent. Take former Bull Luol Deng, for example. Before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he declined a deal that averaged around $10 million per year. Once the two-time All Star hit the market, he ended up signing with the Miami Heat for the same amount.
This was the acumen that pervaded going into negotiations with Butler. His underwhelming 2013-14 season did not give him much leverage to bargain, and management held firm on an offer that was said to be worth about $11 million per year—short of the rumored $12 million that was being sought according to an October 30 article written by Nick Friedell of ESPN.com.
Back in late November, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times insinuated that Klay Thompson’s max deal played a part in Butler’s decision to balk at the team’s final offer. There’s no telling how valid that claim is. Thompson’s consistently improving offensive output coupled with his solid perimeter defense made a much stronger case for a big-money contract.
Still, Butler was confident that he was worth more than what was being put forward. He didn’t seem too fazed by the impasse. When the extension deadline passed, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune quoted the 6’7” wing giving a very cognizant response: “I understand this is a business so I just have to be a great basketball player. I love my odds. I think this team is championship-caliber. I’m going to produce. I’m going to guard. I will take that on myself.”
Cashing out
Butler just pulled the contract equivalent of Babe Ruth calling his shot. Luckily for Chicago, the newly minted Most Improved Player is also restricted, so he can only be lost to the highest bidder if the front office doesn’t match the offer. Also, referring back to the Johnson article, the Bulls have full Bird rights, thus eliminating the chance of a club back-loading a bid in an effort to dissuade them from matching.
There is no reason to believe that Forman will not either get a deal done in principle before the moratorium is lifted or match whatever another franchise proposes. Butler has made himself indispensable, for several reasons.
This club still plays in the same conference as LeBron James, for starters. Butler has been the team's best option for containing James for the past three seasons. In the first and third games of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Cavaliers, King James shot a combined 17-47 from the field thanks to the clamps put down by the Bulls' best defender.
Butler has also become that reliable second scorer that has been so desperately needed. He averaged 20 points per game this season. There were only 19 other players who equaled or exceeded that amount. That puts him in some pretty select company. It would be imprudent to let a two-way player of his caliber walk.
With Rose’s health looking like it has taken a turn for the better, keeping Butler gives the Bulls one of the best backcourts in the NBA for the foreseeable future. It is easy to forget that this duo has not played that many games together as starters. The upside to this tandem is too great to pass up.
The pros far outweigh the cons in ponying up to retain Butler’s services. Management can’t be too hard on themselves for letting the chance to lock him up fall through. No one saw this season coming except Butler. The only thing that can be done now is to pay the man and continue to enjoy the ascent.
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