Jimmy Butler, Three Alphas: Can Trio Work Together?

Questions surround the ability for Jimmy Butler and this current roster of the Chicago Bulls to synchronize and function as a team next season. The simple question is, can Butler mesh with his new partners?

Jimmy Butler’s initial attempt at being “the guy” last season went about as well as Stephen Curry trying to dance around Kevin Love in the final seconds of the 2016 NBA Finals.

Butler rubbed a lot of people — including his own teammates and some fans — the wrong way throughout last season and it certainly appeared to have an effect on the entire Chicago Bulls organization.

But, Butler gets a fresh start for this upcoming season with new teammates after the Bulls took matters into their own hands in an attempt to build around their 26-year-old star.

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There’s a slight issue with what the Bulls have put around Butler: the pieces don’t appear to fit the bigger puzzle.

Rajon Rondo signed a partly-guaranteed two-year deal worth around $28 million and brought Dwyane Wade back to his hometown team on a 1+1-type of deal with a player option for next summer.

Both Rondo and Wade have tasted playoff success and what it’s like to win a championship, but Rondo’s antics on the floor in recent years have contributed to his downward-sliding reputation and Wade is nearing the end of his eventual Hall of Fame career.

There’s also this little nugget that’s been presented by many trying to figure out the Bulls in 2016-17: neither of the three players are shooting above 33 percent from three-point range in their careers.

So, three inside-the-arc, ball-dominant players will make three-fifths of a starting five for the Bulls this season for second-year coach Fred Hoiberg, with an offense predicated on hitting the outside shot.

That feels like the Bullsiest move in the history (or lack thereof) of Bulls moves.

As bleak as it seems for the Bulls entering the 2016-17 season, there is a slight hope that this “Three Alphas” (a trademark of Rajon Rondo) dynamic can function together.

“Jimmy’s the youngest, he’s the engine here,” Rondo said to the media during his first appearance after signing with the Bulls. “It’ll be Jimmy, Wade, and then it will be a pecking order.”

Wade won’t address the media until July 29 at his introductory press conference, but his excitement around wearing Chicago Bulls gear on the daily should tell you how excited he is to get to work.

They’re just pieces to a puzzle that could fit or they could be a bigger disaster than the one time the Brooklyn Nets thought they scared the NBA.

As for Butler, he’ll have a humbling experience as a role defender off Team USA’s bench in the Rio Olympics this August. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune and other reporters spoke with Butler during Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas.

“This is a team thing, from the players on the court to the coaches all the way to the management,” Butler said.

“If we’re all holding each other accountable and getting on guys, it’s only going to make us better because then we know what we’re doing wrong. Whenever you make a mistake and are called out upon it, you’re not going to do it again.”

The experience for Butler could be a vital one. He’s not “the guy”, nor does anyone expect him to be. With Kyrie Irving, the trio of Golden State Warriors, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony all in the fold, Butler will be lower on the pecking order himself.

In the case of the Warriors, it’s about the team. Stephen Curry — a two-time league MVP — told Kevin Durant that it didn’t matter who is the face of the franchise during the recruiting meeting that help seal Durant’s arrival in Oakland. All that matters is the championships.

The Bulls aren’t the Warriors.

Hell, the Bulls aren’t even an actual contender in the Eastern Conference. At least not now.

Next: Young Bulls get big confidence boost in LVSL title win

But, the same concept can be taken into their own gameplan for this season. It’s not about being “the guy”. It’s about being a team. It’s about making it work together and not just taking everything into your own hands.

The Bulls aren’t the best team. Realistically, they’re not even a “team” yet. They’re just pieces to a puzzle that could fit or they could be a bigger disaster than the one time the Brooklyn Nets thought they scared the NBA.

For their envision of successes to become reality, it’ll come down to Rondo, Wade and Butler taking over and leading the way for the youthful Bulls.

Together.

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Can Jimmy Butler and the ‘Three Alphas’ Make it Work?

By Michael Whitlow | Jul 21, 2016

Questions surround the ability for Jimmy Butler and this current roster of the Chicago Bulls to synchronize and function as a team next season. The simple question is, can Butler mesh with his new partners?