Chicago Bulls: 3 best players never to win MVP

Longevity could’ve been the name of the game for former Bulls star small forward Jimmy Butler if John Paxson and Gar Forman didn’t jump ship on him right after they did the same to D-Rose. “Jimmy G. Buckets” was shipped out of the Windy City during the 2017 offseason, when GarPax dished him out to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Granted that trade didn’t turn out great for either the Bulls or the Timberwolves up to this point.

However, Butler did get off to a solid start on his path to stardom in the NBA right away. The 6-foot-7 and 230 pound wing Butler was picked up with the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Bulls. He wouldn’t start more than half of his games played until his third season with the Bulls. But Butler would be an All-Star selection in his final three years with the Bulls.

The Bulls got a good run out of Butler at the end. He posted a 3.8 box plus/minus rating, .184 win shares per 48 minutes, and just shy of 50 total win shares during his time with the Bulls. Butler didn’t get in the top 10 of the final MVP voting during his time with the Bulls. That wouldn’t come until his season in Minnesota.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Butler didn’t reach the peak of his potential (at least as we see it now) until later in his career once he left the team. The first All-NBA honors came for Butler in his year with the Timberwolves. He could be seeing the same honors that he did with the Sixers and Timberwolves in the last two years, this year with the Miami Heat.