Jimmy Butler confident he’ll sign contract extension with Bulls
Oct 27, 2014, 11:15 AM EDT
Charlotte Hornets v Chicago Bulls Jimmy Butler is having a busy preseason.
The Bulls guard tangled with Kevin Seraphin, finished an awesome alley-oop, made a game-winning 3-pointer, got toasted by Mark Wahlberg and sprained his thumb.
About the only thing Butler hasn’t done is sign a contract extension, but he has until Friday to do so.
Jimmy Butler remained confident Friday that he and the Chicago Bulls will work out a contract extension prior to the approaching deadline.
“I think we’re going to figure it out,” Butler said prior to the Bulls’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “My main focus is now of all time is to get healthy. If you’re healthy, you’ll get paid anyway. That’s all I’m worried about it.”
Has Butler ever wavered about wanting to be with the Bulls?
“No, no, no, no.This is definitely the city, the team I want to be on,” Butler said. “At the end of the day, at the beginning of the day, I want to be a Chicago Bull for as long as possible.”
Butler is a tough defender, and he can force his way to the basket. The big question is his outside shooting. Butler made 18 percent of his 3s as a rookie, 38 percent in his second season and 28 percent last year.
Likely, the Bulls and Butler are discussing a contract that would be a steal for Chicago if Butler bounces back from beyond the arc and a slight overpay if he doesn’t. This seems like a good time for the Bulls to make an offer on the low end of that range, and if Butler declines, they can see how his 3-point shooting progresses before handling him in restricted free agency next summer.
However, a couple other factors are working in Butler’s favor.
It’s a sellers’ market for wing players. Gordon Hayward just got a max offer sheet, and Chandler Parsons’ was close. There just isn’t much depth at the position league-wide right now.
With the salary cap set to skyrocket under the new national TV contracts, it’s likely Butler – who compares favorably to Parsons and especially Hayward – would have little trouble drawing a big offer sheet next summer.
Counting Kirk Hinrich’s player option and Tony Snell’s team option (which must be decided by Friday), the Bulls already have $63,015,142 committed to eight players for 2015-16. The NBA projects a luxury tax of $80.7 million.
If Butler would accept a number that keeps the Bulls comfortably below the luxury-tax line – even they think it overvalues his on-court production – they might go for it. Better than getting boxed into a corner later and potentially losing Butler next summer.
How does four years and $46 million sound to everyone?
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- andrewwiggins22 - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:30 AM
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Trade Jimmy Butler to Lance Stephenson
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:50 AM
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That a new team or something?
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:41 AM
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OMG don’t tell me this guy’s gonna be asking for max or near max too!!?
4 years/46 mil, Dan, are you high!??
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:49 AM
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I know wings like Parsons and Hayward got grossly overpaid this summer, but Butler isn’t even close to being on those guys levels. Smh
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- truehooper1421 - Oct 27, 2014 at 1:48 PM
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Idk bout that one Malt…
they may have a slight, slight edge over him with offensive versatility, but Butler is 1000 better on D than both of them.
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 27, 2014 at 5:28 PM
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Chandler ain’t no slouch on D.
Let’s put it in perspective….
Guys like Chandler and Hayward, in a perfect situation (contending team) are your 3rd bananas. On a 2nd tier team then maaayyybe the 2nd option at best for an early 2nd round exit.
Butler in that same world would/should be your 4th-5th best player. If you’re counting on him to be your 3rd man or better, and you don’t have one or two killer superstars (like OKC), then you’d better prepare to pick somewhere in the lottery every year. (Well, if you’re in the East maybe you could make playoffs, but would get flushed in the first round)
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- sportsfan18 - Oct 27, 2014 at 7:09 PM
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truehooper
I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m a big Bulls fan.
but the league pays for offense. us fans need to b e consistent too.
Ricky Rubio is a good defensive guard and he passes the ball very well. but he can’t shoot and folks are putting him down for wanting big bucks.
James Harden is a great offensive player who won’t play defense… but he’s still a max player.
why should it be different for wings? good D bad offense and they will get the same as wings good on offense?
I’m not saying they shouldn’t as I think guys who play D should get paid, but the league doesn’t seem to work that way and us fans sure don’t think Ricky should get big bucks…
I’m not comparing Ricky to Jimmy, only the situations, not them head to head.
I”m amazed that a max player like Harden can get max dollars when he only plays half of the game… but that’s just me…
a max player should be a complete player. harden is a complete offensive player, no doubt.
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- timberwolvesbrisin - Oct 27, 2014 at 1:10 PM
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Most overrated player in NBA IMO. Not a good passer for the SG postion, not a good shooter, and an overrated defender. Decent player but not as good as he’s made out to be.
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- bullsfannotabudman - Oct 27, 2014 at 2:31 PM
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He’s a better Deng than Deng (yeah and better than Iguadola or just about anybody at the 2/3), on the D, he’s ferocious on the boards for a “2” and his offense will surprise people this year.
Look at what helps your team win. Butler gives you so much more than either Parsons or Hayward.
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- 2drunk2dunk - Oct 27, 2014 at 7:51 PM
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i think $40 mil at 4 years is slightly better for a sg/sf that can’t shoot the threeball
however his defense is pretty solid and dunleavy can help space the floor
