He was the final pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. He played in 42 games his first season in the league with zero starts. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds.
He took a jump in year two, playing in all 82 contests with 20 starts. He averaged 8.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1. 4 assists and 1.0 steals. He was among the 20 best defensive players in the league, finishing 17th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Then came the third-year leap.
As a 24-year-old, Jimmy Butler started all 67 games he played in, averaging 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 stocks (steals plus blocks) in 38.7 minutes a night. He won the NBA Most Improved Player Award, was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team and finished 10th in DPOY voting.
He had officially arrived, blossoming from an overlooked, overage draft prospect into one of the best all-around players in the league. And he did it all in Chicago.
He moved on to Minnesota, Philadelphia and Miami, burning bridges along the way. He's currently in the process of accomplishing that feat with the Heat.
The Bulls, meanwhile, went through an iteration with Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic that had postseason potential; potential that evaporated with Ball's knee injury. This year, Chicago is once again stuck in mediocrity with no obvious organizational direction.
If Chicago trading for Butler seems like a wild and unlikely proposition, that's because it is. But the more news that trickles out about Butler and Miami and the longer the Bulls keep themselves in postseason contention, the idea of a reunion becomes less ridiculous.
The Chicago Bulls could be a Jimmy Butler destination
There are several reasons why a deal between Miami and Chicago makes sense.
The Heat-Butler relationship appears completely broken
The 35-year-old was suspended for seven games for "conduct detrimental to the team" on Friday. He said he wanted to find happiness playing basketball again, and when asked in a press conference if that could be in Miami, said, "probably not."
ESPN reported that the Heat want to find a new home for Butler as soon as possible, although Miami President Pat Riley is well-known for playing hardball with his stars and calling bluffs.
Still, the partnership seems beyond repair.
The Heat will have difficulty finding a star-level return
Contending teams like the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks would have serious problems finding a way to fit Butler onto their rosters without giving up too much and/or breaking the league's new salary cap rules.
Phoenix would need Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause and find a third or fourth team to take on his contract because the Heat surely don't want it. Dallas and Golden State would need to bring other teams into potential trades as well to make the money and pieces work.
As an apron team, Miami can't take back a penny more than Butler's $48.8 million salary.
According to Marc Stein in his The Stein Line substack, the Heat want to accomplish two things in a Butler trade:
- Not take back any long-term salary.
- Still have enough talent to make the playoffs. If they don't, their first-round pick situation turns into a giant mess.
The Bulls can meet Miami's demands
A basic framework of a trade between Chicago and the Heat could look like this:
- Bulls receive: Jimmy Butler
- Heat receive: Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vucevic, Torrey Craig
Some draft picks or additional players could be sent in either direction, but this trade takes the complication of three or four teams out of the equation and gives Miami those two aforementioned desires.
Ball ($21.4 million) and Craig ($2.8 million) are in the final year of their deals. Vucevic will enter next season as a $21.5 million expiring contract.
That's about $24 million in salary cap room Miami would clear after this season and another $21.5 after next season (or potentially sooner if it can find a trade partner and move Vucevic in the summer).
And all three would help the Heat remain a playoff team this year. Ball has returned from a near-three-year absence to become a significant piece of the Bulls' bench as a high-IQ defender and ball-mover. He makes much more sense on a contending team like Miami than he does in Chicago.
Craig is a veteran wing with playoff experience, and Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra has proven he can turn those types of players into valuable contributors.
Vucevic is averaging a double-double and shooting 55.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from three in a career season. He's playing well enough to warrant some All-Star consideration and, even with his flaws, would fit anywhere as a stretch five.
The Heat also has Bam Adebayo to cover for Vucevic's defensive weaknesses and with Vooch's ability to stretch the floor, the two could be on the court at the same time.
No long-term salary coming back? Check. Still good enough to make the playoffs? Check.
Why the Bulls could want Butler
Chicago should be a tanking team. The Bulls need their 2025 first-round pick to land in the top 10 or it gets sent to San Antonio. That would be a brutal blow to a rebuilding franchise.
But are we sure the Bulls are rebuilding? This current front office's track record—and the team's actual record—say not so fast.
Chicago has dipped its toes into the reload pool but can't seem to commit. The Bulls have finished the last two seasons with sub-.500 records but qualified for the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament. Neither has ended with a spot in the actual playoffs.
As of Jan. 7, Chicago is 17-19 and has won four of its last five games, including a comeback upset victory over the New York Knicks.
The Bulls are 10th in the East, but only 1.5 games back of sixth, which would mean they avoid the Play-In altogether.
Head Coach Billy Donovan said Chicago's first-round pick has not come up in conversation at all when he's discussed this year's trade deadline with the organization, per ESPN:
""No one's saying to me, hey, listen, wait a second with this draft pick right now, we need to make sure, it's been always the integrity of competition and playing, and I appreciate that.""Bulls Coach Billy Donovan
If Chicago is indeed aiming for a playoff spot, bringing Butler home would be an obvious help. Even at his age, Butler is one of the better two-way players in the NBA and has a level of playoff experience no one on the Bulls current roster can touch. He's also shooting less and with more efficiency this year.
And, of course, there's Playoff Jimmy. When Donovan needs a bucket, he should feel comfortable handing the Ball to Butler in crucial situations.
The pairing of Butler and LaVine supplemented by Coby White and Josh Giddey is good enough to put the Bulls in playoff—not Play-In—contention. Losing this year's first-round pick would hurt in the short term, but it would mean Chicago gains control of all of its first-rounders after this season.
Is this deal likely to happen? No. Does it make sense for both teams? Yeah, actually, it kind of does.