Pippen Ain't Easy
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Good For You, Jimmy Butler

By Michael Whitlow

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Since the rumors surfaced about a potential beef between Chicago Bulls stars Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose, Butler has gone on the defense for him (and Rose) and has stated numerous times that he and Rose are doing fine … and then some.

It’s been five months since the Bulls were embarrassed in Game 6 of their playoff series against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The blame of the collapse was directed at the rumored (emphasis on “rumored”) tension between rising superstar Jimmy Butler and former league MVP Derrick Rose.

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Word began to spread that Butler was unhappy with Rose and both were struggling to play together on the floor during the Bulls’ six-game series loss to Cleveland.

Throughout the summer, Rose stayed in his own lane and worked out in California, while Butler took his new spotlight and constantly squashed any kind of thoughts towards a beef with Rose on and off the court.

Well, as for the two stars minding their own business and letting their play, there are some who still believe that Butler and Rose aren’t getting along.

Joe Cowley, a reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times on the Bulls beat, mentioned on Wednesday that although Butler and Rose are friends, the basketball side of things is where they still differ.

"According to the source, Butler considers Rose a friend, but “doesn’t have a lot of respect for his work ethic.’’ In Butler’s mind, Rose was considered the face of the franchise, and if the face of the franchise wasn’t busting his butt in practice every day, especially last season, what was the message to the rest of the team?"

To be honest (and fairly blunt), Butler stuck a huge middle finger to that said report from an anonymous source around the Bulls on Thursday after their shootaround in preparation for their meeting with Denver on Thursday night.

"“I don’t understand why everybody wants to find a problem with me and Derrick,” Butler said. “Let us be the fierce, (expletive) competitors that we are. Just let us play together. There’s nothing going on.”"

Lately, the talk of the town has been the emergence of Jimmy Butler as a star on the floor and a star off the floor. Butler’s been taking the initiative as a vocal leader for the Bulls, and with the regular season still a little ways away, the Butler-Rose stuff has unfortunately been non-stop since the rumors broke wild in May.

ALSO AT PIPPEN AIN’T EASY: How Game 4 Against Cleveland Changed The Franchise

Personally, frustration between the two will probably be there at times. Why? It’s sports. Tension will be there between players, coaches, and even the front office like we all saw last season, but it’s not a “beef”. It’s not a “feud”. It’s just sports.  It’s two guys — who are really good at what they do — wanting to bring success and a championship mentality back to Chicago. To quote Butler, it’s not always “unicorns and rainbows” when you’re making millions of dollars, despite what you may see or think.

Sure, Rose has found himself in some edgy situations as of late off the court with his free agency comments at media day and his looming civil case, but when healthy (emphasis on healthy), he still has the potential to be a valuable point guard in the NBA. Butler emerged as a legitimate superstar last season and is on a mission early on in the year to prove that his 2014-15 season wasn’t a fluke.

Despite what you might hear or read in the coming months, Butler’s right. They both are fierce, (expletive) competitors who want the same thing and that’s to win. Good for Butler to stand up for not only himself, but his teammate.

(Quotes obtained via Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.)

Next: Hoiberg: Jimmy Butler is a complete NBA player

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