After the NBA’s free agent moratorium period officially ended at 12:01 AM this morning, the Chicago Bulls made their agreement with Jimmy Butler official and locked up their star of the future, along with answering their biggest offseason question.
After he “bet on himself” and made “the leap” in year four, the biggest question wasn’t whether or not Jimmy Butler was worth a maximum contract.
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The real question was whether or not Butler would be signing that pending max contact with the Chicago Bulls during the summer.
On Thursday morning in Chicago, the Bulls answered that question with an emphatic “he isn’t going anywhere”.
Butler and the Bulls formally agreed on a five-year, $90 million deal on the first day of free agency on July 1, but Butler couldn’t sign the contract until Thursday when the NBA’s moratorium period ended.
"“We are thrilled that Jimmy has committed to remain a Chicago Bull for years to come,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “As one of the leagues rising stars, we look forward to his continued growth and him being a major contributor to our team’s continued success.”-via Bulls.com"
Forman isn’t lying. Butler’s one of the league’s up-and-coming players, and his performance last season showed he was worth a new contract … and then some.
Sure, the Bulls needed a new head coach. That one was a given. But, keeping Butler in a Bulls uniform was the biggest need/topic at hand, and the Bulls front office did exactly what they had to do.
During his press conference on Thursday, Butler expressed his happiness and excitement to stay in Chicago after the free agency period with tons of questions. “I know I wanted to be here. All I wanted was to be wanted,” Butler said.
When you glance at the timeline between Butler turning down a $44 million extension back on Halloween and his official signing today, was there ever really any doubt that Butler was bolting elsewhere?
The biggest players in the Butler sweepstakes not named the Bulls, were the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yeah, I would’ve stayed in Chicago too.
The point is, Butler stated on numerous occasions that he wanted to stay in Chicago, even through the Thibodeau/front office drama, along with the rumors that he and Derrick Rose had problems getting along on the floor during their series loss to Cleveland.
Butler squashed those Rose rumors in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine last week, and with today’s signing, should further show the argument that Rose and Butler are on the same page moving forward. He wants to be in Chicago — along with getting some nice new paychecks starting this year — and assured himself of being “the star of the future”* for the Bulls.
*Butler does have a player option in the fourth year of his new five-year deal, at which he’ll be 29 years old and in line for one more huge deal under the new salary cap.
So, when you glance at the Bulls checklist for the summer:
- Find a new head coach: Check. (Hi, Fred.)
- Draft towards one of the personnel needs: Check. (Bobby Portis, c’mon down!)
- Re-sign veteran Mike Dunleavy: Check. (Hands off, LeBron!)
- Finding a backup PG: Check. (Aaron Brooks and Kirk Hinrich may not be the most popular options, but they’re options nonetheless.)
- Using the MMLE on a need: TBD.
- Re-sign Jimmy Butler: BIG check.
Next: Breaking down the Bulls Summer League roster
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