Chicago Bulls superstar Jimmy Butler appeared on two ESPN shows on Wednesday and he gave a lot of interesting answers on topics such as his leadership ability, relationship with management, his opinion on the Derrick Rose trade and more.
Jimmy Butler has been in the news a lot lately.
Almost all of it has been because of rumors around the NBA that the Chicago Bulls were trying to deal the two-time All-Star guard to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night.
Although he was in the spotlight, Butler had not given any official comments on the trade rumors. But yesterday, while being a guest on The Jump and SportsNation on ESPN, Butler had the opportunity to answer several questions.
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Starting with The Jump, Butler was asked many questions by host Rachael Nichols and her partners and former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Tracy McGrady.
Butler mostly gave politically correct answers and tried to steer clear of controversy, but he did voice his opinion on a few things.
For example, when asked about the Derrick Rose trade, Butler said he was not surprised.
Nichols tried to pressure him further into why he felt it had to be either him or Rose traded, but Butler didn’t give a clear answer.
However, it can be inferred that he felt this way due to the underwhelming season the Bulls had. Chicago was considered one of the best teams heading into the season, but the Bulls finished the year out of the playoffs.
Butler was also asked about an article posted on the Bulls team website where he was criticized as a selfish player. Nichols asked how Butler’s relationship with management was and if this article had any impact on it.
“I mean I’ve just never seen that on a team site,” Nichols exclaimed.
Butler responded wisely.
"“I let people think what they want to think. I know where I stand, I know what I’m about, I think my teammates do as well.”"
However, Jackson interrupted and got Butler to agree with him on something.
The show also included McGrady and Jackson yelling at Butler about his sock monkey commercial for the NBA (which, for the record, I love).
Following The Jump, Butler moved into the SportsNation studio.
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One of the first questions addressed to Butler was about his mindset entering next season with the Bulls.
He was also asked about being the leader of the team and he gave a strong but humorous response.
"“I’m still learning. It’s hard for me because, I’ve never been the best player on any of my teams… As you can see I’ve made plenty of mistakes at it, but that’s part of everything, you learn from it.”"
To finish off his appearance, Butler said he wants the Bulls to get tough players and shooters and he took a part in one of SportsNation’s best segments, “Explain Yourself.”
Overall, Butler gave a lot of quality responses to a variety of questions on ESPN yesterday.
Although none of his answers were breaking news worthy, it was refreshing to see him on television, and nice to hear his comments during one of his few “interviews” since April.