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Squashing Rumored Jimmy Butler-Derrick Rose Beef

By Will Gottlieb

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Recently, there has been news of animosity between the two Bulls All-Star guards, Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose. There is reason to believe that the reports have validity. Both guys have proven to be primary scoring options that have played the lead role for this Bulls team. Having just signed Butler to a max contract, this backcourt is set as is – they are our cornerstone players – so how can they make it work?

One answer to this question might be to reassess player roles.  Shortly after Butler’s new contract press conference, Chicago Tribune Bulls beat writer K.C. Johnson tweeted about a comment from Butler’s agent:

Butler’s agent is correct that Rose will have to adjust, but what does that mean?  Does Rose have to to play second banana to Butler and is he willing to do so? Are Bulls fans ready for this? To me, this is where any potential conflict may arise. With the ego of these two star players involved (not that either of them have ever really been horribly egotistic people), there is a chance the two All-Star guards could clash on the court.

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In terms of the way that will affect his game, Rose will likely have to improve his three-point touch to open the floor up for Butler drives.  This scares me a little because no one wants to see Rose’s flat, stiff jumper five or more times a game.  That version of Rose hurts the Bulls.

Sure, he should be allowed to take a couple of open threes to keep the defense honest and force closeouts that he can pump fake and drive by.  But, Rose becoming a three-point shooter does not stand to benefit the Bulls without a total transformation of his technique.

Realistically, this also means that Rose won’t be able to take 25-30 shots a night anymore the way he did during his MVP campaign.  Basically, he will have to sacrifice some of his usage. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Rose’s usage rate was 31.7, compared to Butler’s 21.6 last year. While in the playoffs, the gap closed slightly, 29.1 and 23.9 respectively.

Even if the usage rates flip, and Butler’s is higher than Rose’s, Rose is still the point guard, and should continue to break down the defense off the dribble to make plays for himself and his teammates.  Even if he will never be the MVP player and world class athlete he once was (which I don’t necessarily think is completely out of the question), this is where Rose is at his best and where he should continue to play.  In terms of usage, ideally, the two will approximately equal usage rates, a distribution that should make both parties happy and give our team a better chance at winning.

Is a slight decrease in usage enough to cause tension between Rose and Butler? It shouldn’t be.  It doesn’t have to be Batman and Robin.  If anything, it will give Rose more rest throughout games and allow him to be more consistent on a day-to-day basis than he was during the playoffs without two or more days of rest. These two will find a way to play and win together.  That’s what the great players do. The idea that one player needs to be the lead and the rest need to “know their role”  is outdated.  Even volume scorers like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have proven that they can win together. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each averaged 20+ points per game this year and the outcome was a title.  Great teams have multiple great players; that’s just the way it works in today’s NBA.

Frankly, this is what the Bulls have been missing during the Tom Thibodeau era.  I’m excited to see Rose take on a more traditional point guard role.  Not that he won’t continue to get his shot, but throughout Rose’s whole career, he has shown he is adaptable.  Using his explosiveness and knack for getting to the rim has led to scoring in the past, which was because of the lack of offense around him on the Thibodeau-led teams.  Rose needed to take 30 shots a night with a supporting cast of Ronnie Brewer, Keith Bogans, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and a pre-point center Joakim Noah.

Before his injuries, the knock on Rose was that he had too heavy a load to shoulder during the playoffs, which is why this Bulls team has continued to fall short. Now, the emergence of Butler means a shared responsibility on offense, a trade-off that Bulls fans and players should be excited about, not nervous.

Last season’s fully healthy team (though Gasol, Noah and Taj Gibson were all at least slightly injured) should have been enough to finally dethrone LeBron James and make it to the NBA Finals for a chance to contend for a title. With infinitely more weapons, that team should have been enough to contend.

After falling short, it was clear that something needed to change, and that something turned out to be the coach.  In my opinion, it was the consistent losing in the second round that could absolutely cause some issues between star players.  Losing causes frustration, but winning cures all.

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    • In bringing both Butler and Mike Dunleavy back to the team, the front office is placing all their faith in Fred Hoiberg to win now, and in doing so, manage the relationships between players. Hoiberg’s offense can provide a more fluid, faster pace offense with more passing, dribble pitches and plenty of driving lanes (Coach Nick of BBALLBREAKDOWN.com made a great video).  This will give both Rose and Butler the green light to play downhill with avenues to score and facilitate for drivers and spot-up shooters.

    Hoiberg’s offense will benefit both players skill sets, helping them both to get more shots in a less stagnant offense. So not only for the offensive purposes, the decision to fire Thibodeau and hire Hoiberg may help alleviate any tension between and among players. With so much to prove, there will be pressure for both the players and for Hoiberg to perform.  At the end of the day, we all want to win.

    In order to do that, players will have to make sacrifices.  Perhaps this comes in Rose “handing over the torch” to Butler, but maybe it just meant that Thibodeau had to be let go. Hopefully, Hoiberg will be able manage that and sell the idea of sacrifice to the team a la Steve Kerr.

    The beef speculation needs to stop.  Despite a hot and cold first two games of their Las Vegas Summer League stint, I believe in “Hoiball”. I believe Rose and Butler are two unselfish, humble players, and they will be one of the best backcourts in the league this season.

    Next: Bobby Portis could be a perfect big for Fred Hoiberg's offense

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