Throwback Thursday: Jimmy Butler Goes All In & Wins the Pot

Last October, the Chicago Bulls almost paid for their infamous “extreme frugalness” by not giving Jimmy Butler the money he deserved. So, Butler made it simple. He forced them to pay him by “betting on himself” and not taking the cheap deal.

Jimmy Butler gave himself an ultimatum last Fall.

Before the rookie extension deadline on Halloween, and before the Chicago Bulls were set to take the floor against LeBron James and the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers, Butler declined the four-year, $44 million extension offered to him by the Bulls front office.

After declining the last-minute offer from the Bulls, Yahoo Sports NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski provided more details by speaking with both Butler and his agent, Happy Walters.

"“It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself,” Butler told Yahoo Sports in a text message on Friday. “It was about me believing that I put the work in this summer to become a better player with the hope that my improvement will give the Bulls a better chance to win a championship.”-Wojnarowski on Butler’s contract situation, Oct. 31, 2014"

So, there it was: either Butler prove to the Bulls that he’s a “max-contract player”, or prepare for the Bulls to not match any offer sheet for Butler’s services, and miss out on some serious cash with the new TV deal brewing for the NBA’s salary cap.

After that, the rest was history.

Butler had his best season in his four years in the NBA, averaging 20 points per game, along with becoming the first player in Chicago Bulls history to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.

“I guess I’ve gained a lot of respect around the league,” Butler said after he won the MIP award. “But I think superstar is a push. I guess I was an All-Star this year, but still, I just want to play the game. I just want to win. I don’t care what people label me as. Never will care. I think winning speaks for itself.”

Not only did Butler gain respect league-wide among his peers for his humble attitude, his game took off.

In terms of two-way players in the NBA today, not many are better than Butler.

Notable increases for Butler this season:

Points per game: 13.1 to 20.0
Rebounds per game: 4.9 to 5.8
Effective field goal percentage: 44.6 to 50.2%
Three-point field goal percentage: 28.3 to 37.8%
Player effeciency rating (PER): 13.5 to 21.3
True shooting percentage (TS%): 52.2 to 58.3%
Win shares (WS): 7.1 to 11.2

The Bulls recognized that Butler would gain attention from all over, and rightfully gave the fourth-year wing a five-year contract, worth northwards of $90 million.

With Derrick Rose back in action, the Bulls possess now possess the most expensive backcourt in the NBA, and arguably the best one-two punch in the game at the guard positions. Obviously, places like Oakland and Washington, D.C. would have a case in the discussion, but Butler’s emergence as a star in the league has thrown the Bulls right in the heart of the conversation.

It’s nice to see Butler’s shot chart look like this:

(Stats via NBASavant.com)

… instead of like this:

(Stats via NBASavant.com)

Personally, if any of the local Chicago shops make a shirt that says, “I want to bet on myself”, and featured a photo of a smiling Jimmy Butler, I would probably buy at least 15 of them, and that’s some severe low-balling.

Next: Jimmy Butler says the time for talk is over for the Bulls

Last October, the Chicago Bulls almost paid for their infamous “extreme frugalness” by not giving Jimmy Butler the money he deserved. So, Butler made it simple. He forced them to pay him by “betting on himself” and not taking the cheap deal.

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