This week in Chicago Bulls basketball should be dubbed “Tension Week” because that’s all that has been discussed with the organization. Thankfully, former Bulls star Jimmy Butler set the record straight for everyone in an interview.
Even though he’s in a new conference with a new franchise, Jimmy Butler is still being lumped into Chicago Bulls-related shenanigans as the 2017-18 season draws closer.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Nick Friedell reported on The Jump that the younger members of the Bulls roster have had it with Dwyane Wade in Chicago. That was followed up with a report that there was some supposed tension between Wade and Butler during his last season with the Bulls.
In a phone interview with Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Butler set everything straight and confirmed that he and Wade’s friendship on and off the hardwood is just fine.
"‘‘Hell, probably some of them can’t stand or don’t like me,’’ Butler told the Sun-Times in a phone interview Thursday. ‘‘That’s fine. I’m still waking up fortunate and blessed every day, just like Dwyane is. He still has a fabulous family and a lot more important things to worry about than the opinions of others.(Sun-Times)"
Butler also added, “But if they dislike him because the guy wants to win, well, then that team has some serious problems on the way.”
The origin of this supposed tension between Wade, Butler and the Bulls roster can probably be traced back to that infamous loss to the Atlanta Hawks in January last season where the Bulls blew a 10-point lead in the last three minutes of the contest and lost.
After that debacle, Wade and Butler aired out their grievances to reporters like a belated Festivus celebration that basically sounded like they were putting the blame on the younger players.
Then, Rajon Rondo stepped in and the rest was history. Or something like that.
"“The only beef he and I could possibly have is who is a better dresser right now,” Butler said. “For that [report] to be floating out there is crazy. As many dinners as me and him have had out here [in California], the trips we’ve taken this summer, I don’t think people that argue would be around each other as much as I like being around D-Wade.(Sun-Times)"
From the sound of things, Butler and Wade are cool. Hell, Wade was with Butler in Paris the night he found out he was being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. There’s a lot of respect there between the two and that was pretty clear from the moment Wade was introduced as a Bull last summer and Butler semi-crashed his press conference.
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The tricky part with all of this is that Wade is still technically with the Bulls and if the reports about the younger guys not being big fans of Wade are true, then things are going to be awkward for a while unless the Bulls and Wade’s camp come to a buyout agreement before the season.