After being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night during the 2017 NBA Draft, former Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler wrote one final goodbye to the city of Chicago and to the Bulls organization.
The Chicago Bulls actually traded Jimmy Butler to Tom Thibodeau and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night during the 2017 NBA Draft.
That totally happened.
Butler, who is currently in Paris with current Bulls guard Dwyane Wade and former Bulls free agency target Carmelo Anthony, took to social media to pen one final goodbye to the city of Chicago and to the Bulls.
Here’s a look at Butler’s latest posting on his official Instagram account:
Before the trade, Butler reportedly made it clear multiple times that he didn’t want to be traded, but without a no-trade clause in his five-year, $95 million contract he signed two summers ago, the ball really wasn’t in his court on this one.
The Bulls took Butler with the final pick of the first round in the 2011 NBA Draft and he evolved into one of the NBA’s best players, including making the last three All-Star Games for the Eastern Conference and winning the NBA Most Improved Award after his outstanding 2014-15 season.
With the trade official, Butler will join one of the league’s rising franchises in Minnesota, led by Thibodeau, former No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns and former No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins. It’s a fresh start for Butler and the Bulls, who made it clear after Thursday night that they’ve picked a lane and start anew in Chicago without Butler as the centerpiece.
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For the Bulls, the Thibodeau era is officially over. Butler’s gone. Taj Gibson was gone at the trade deadline this past season. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were gone last summer. It’s truly a new day for Chicago Bulls basketball and one that’s going to take some getting used to for fans, reporters and the franchise itself.