It is Becoming Increasingly More Difficult to like Jimmy Butler

As Jimmy Butler continues to decide how he is going to approach his restricted free agency this summer, his reputation and likeability have taken a turn for the worse. The once humble and grounded forward from Tomball, Texas has let one good season inflate his ego so much that money and a petty feud with Derrick Rose have caused him to want to leave the team that gave him his first chance at stardom. What happened to the old Jimmy Butler?

The Chicago Bulls have officially offered Butler multiple contract options. Eric Pincus of Basketball insiders explains.

The Chicago Bulls have given Jimmy Butler both a qualifying offer AND a max qualifying offer @BBallInsiders
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) June 29, 2015

The max qualifying offer is a little-known provision in the new NBA collective bargaining agreement. Now that the Bulls have extended this option, other teams have to give him a contract offer that lasts at least three years without player options. This was a smart move by the Bulls because they can match any of these offers, securing Butler for at least three more years.

May 14, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward

LeBron James

(23) dribbles the ball around Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) during the first quarter in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The other option for Butler is to accept the Bulls qualifying offer valued at $4 million over one season. This gives him the opportunity to become a free agent as early as next season.

No matter which option Butler ultimately chooses, this entire process illustrates his transition into another NBA diva with an inflated sense of his own importance.

At the beginning of the 2014/2015 season, Jimmy Butler rejected a four-year contract extension valued at an approximate $44 million. At the time, he insisted that this move was about betting on himself rather than an internal desire to chase larger dollar amounts.

"People say I’m chasing money when that’s not it. I’m going to be in Chicago. I say that with a smile on my face because I know that for a fact. —-Quote obtained by David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune"

Recent reports will make it incredibly difficult for Jimmy Butler to justify that he isn’t chasing money.

On June 16, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Jimmy Butler is planning to reject the five-year, $90 million-plus contract that the Chicago Bulls are planning to offer him this summer. Butler is doing this so he doesn’t become locked into a long-term contract and, therefore, can exploit the NBA’s recent television deal that will spike up league revenue and salary cap figures. A five-year max contract could be valued at approximately $190 million within three seasons.

May 14, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) shoots the ball in front of Cleveland Cavaliers center

Timofey Mozgov

(20) during the second half in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at the United Center. The Cavaliers won 94-73. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

There is little debate that Butler is chasing money at this point in his career. Anybody who is willing to reject $90 million to pursue a larger paycheck clearly has money chasing issues. In and of itself, the money chasing isn’t enough of a justifiable reason to completely turn on Butler. However, it is a problem that he is unwilling to accept a max-money offer with his current team; suggesting that he no longer wants to play in Chicago. Recent reports indicate that there is another reason he wants out of Chicago. The reason is a pre-adolescent feud with Derrick Rose in which Butler had his feelings hurt.

Following the Bulls Game 6 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, CBS Chicago reporter Dan Bernstein reported that tension existed between Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose regarding the role of each player in the offense.

"Rose was never asked directly why he disappeared when his team needed him most, but sources tell 670 The Score that a common NBA problem affected the Bulls at the worst possible time – two alpha dogs and only one basketball.It looked strange when wing Jimmy Butler kept flashing to Rose’s side of the floor, calling for the ball, as the Bulls’ offense was drying up. Rose was all too happy to oblige instead of waving Butler off and taking charge, either resetting the called play or taking his man – often the undrafted Matthew Dellavedova – hard to the rim for at least a likely foul.Sources describe a passive-aggressive reaction from Rose that was the culmination of tensions building in recent weeks with Butler’s emergence as a primary scorer. Butler is very aware that he won his bet on himself and is poised to reap the reward of a maximum contract from the Bulls, whether or not it takes an offer sheet from another club in restricted free agency this summer. Butler’s emergence was validated by the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, and he’s now feeling every bit the star, with all that entails.—-Excerpt courtesy of Dan Bernstein of CBS Chicago."

A recent report by the Chicago Sun-Times indicates that Jimmy Butler is unwilling to share the spotlight with his backcourt counterpart Derrick Rose. Butler wants the spotlight to himself and is “turned off with the idea that it’s Derrick Rose’s team”.

Apparently Butler, is neither cool with the idea of sharing the ball nor the spotlight with Derrick Rose. However, this sentiment is largely one-sided as Derrick Rose has never shown a dislike for other star players on his team.

Apr 23, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) is greeted by Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) after scoring during the second overtime period against the Milwaukee Bucks in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

According to basketball reference, Luol Deng averaged nearly 14 shot attempts per game in seasons in which he played with Rose in Chicago. This season, Butler averaged exactly 14 shot attempts per game. Rose has never complained about his teammates shooting the ball in large quantities. It seems unlikely that he would start this season, especially since Butler averaged the same amount of shot attempts as Deng did during his career playing alongside Rose in Chicago.

This season Derrick Rose averaged 16.4 shots per game. To put this number in perspective, he averaged 19.7 shot attempts per game in 2010-2011 and 17.8 in 2011-2012. However, the lower shot attempt per game number can’t only be attributed to Butler. Pau Gasol shot almost 15 times per game on average. There aren’t reports indicating that Rose got mad at Gasol for shooting too much, therefore it seems like the tension between Rose and Butler may be entirely one-sided on the part of Butler.

Butler’s unwillingness to share the spotlight with Rose has prompted the former to consider leaving Chicago. Mark Medina of The LA Daily News reports that Butler wants out of Chicago.

"Lastly, Chicago forward Jimmy Butler hopes to take his talents elsewhere and take advantage of the new television deal after his career year coincided with Tom Thibodeau’s firing and Derrick Rose’s chemistry issues. Although Butler wants to sign a one-year deal with the Lakers, according to a league source familiar with his thinking, the Bulls are expected to match any offer for the restricted free agent.—-Excerpt courtesy of Mark Medina"

*Writers Note: The Chicago Bulls recently extended a maximum qualifying offer to Butler, meaning that he can’t sign a one-year contract with the Lakers. Under the new CBA rules, a team that extends a maximum qualifying offer to a restricted free agent disallows other teams from giving offers that number less than three years.

The Chicago Bulls front office has made it clear that they will match any qualifying offer given to Butler by any other team. Therefore, Jimmy Butler is going to be a Chicago Bull next season barring an unforeseen circumstance. In principle though, it is bad news that the Bulls are essentially re-signing Butler against his will. For Butler, Chicago is a temporary launching pad preceding more lucrative markets in the future.

It may seem far-fetched, but between now and the end of whatever contract he chooses, the Bulls could explore trading him. This would eliminate the very real possibility that he walks away for nothing via free agency when his contract expires. The Bulls will receive compensation for a very good player that doesn’t seem eager to remain in Chicago.

Jimmy Butler wants out of Chicago anyway. Why not trade him?

Next: Bobby Portis Officially Introduced As Member of Bulls

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