Jimmy Butler has rejected the Chicago Bulls’ last contract extension offer.
The Chicago Bulls have been talking about a contract extension with Jimmy Butler for the majority of the offseason, but according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski it won’t be happening. Butler has reportedly rejected the Bulls’ final offer before tonight’s extension deadline, and has decided to play the season out and revisit contract talks next offseason.
Jimmy Butler rejects Chicago's final offer on extension, tells Yahoo: "I want to bet on myself." http://t.co/WYesn1rOiJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2014
It’s not a bad idea for Butler, as he will improve his value on the open market with a big season and could force the Bulls to give him the type of deal that he was looking to get this offseason. Hopefully he is able to stay healthy and on the court this year, because if not he could see his value go down a bit.
Butler played in and started 67 regular season games with the Chicago Bulls last season, and check out the numbers that he put up:
Needless to say, he played a solid year and was one of the main reasons that the Bulls were able to band together and make a playoff run when superstar Derrick Rose went down with another knee injury. At just 25 years of age, Butler still has plenty of room to improve and plenty of time to make those improvements.
“It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself.” – Jimmy Butler
Chicago wanted to get him locked up this offseason, but were not willing to give him the type of money that he was wanting. He is a growing offensive player, and also played well on the defensive side of the court last year with those 1.9 steals per game. His athletic ability and quickness allows him to defend opposing shooting guards and small forwards well.
This decision from Butler was backed up with him talking about why he has chosen to reject the offer and play through the season before talking more about a new deal.
"“It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself. It was about me believing that I put the work in this summer to become a better player with the hope that my improvement will give the Bulls a better chance to win a championship.”"
Expect to see Jimmy Butler come through with a big season assuming he stays healthy.
There is no question that he has the type of talent and potential to make the jump that he is expecting from himself. If he does make that jump, the Bulls are going to have to pay him a lot more money than he was originally asking for from them.