Jimmy Butler: Did He Make The Right Choice In Rejecting Bulls’ Offer?
Jimmy Butler was the best player on the floor for the Chicago Bulls during the preseason before he sprained his left thumb against the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 19. But in spite of how well Butler was playing prior to his injury, he and the Bulls were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term deal. Well, at least for the time being.
What makes Butler’s situation interesting is that Hornets guard Kemba Walker recently signed a four-year extension for $48 million. Along with that, Ricky Rubio received a four-year extension worth $56 million from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
So the question becomes should the Bulls have offered Butler a similar deal? Before we attempt to answer that question, let’s take a look at how Butler has performed during his first three seasons with the Bulls.
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During Butler’s rookie season, he quickly witnessed firsthand that Tom Thibodeau was not a coach that gave rookies a lot of playing time. In fact, Butler played just 8.5 minutes per contest, which resulted in meager averages of 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in 42 appearances for the Bulls.
In the first half of the 2012-13 campaign, Butler was still having a difficult time developing into the kind of player that Thibodeau could rely upon consistently. But that trend changed once Luol Deng was forced to miss games due to injuries.
Not only did Butler’s playing time increase to 26 minutes per game, he also raised his scoring average to 8.6 points per outing — an increase of six points per game from his rookie season. In addition to that, in 20 games as a starter, Butler’s averages included 14.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest.
Along with that, Butler shot the ball at a respectable clip, converting 46 percent of his attempts, including 38 percent from beyond the arc. And Butler continued his impressive run during the postseason.
In 12 playoff games, he played 40.8 minutes per outing with averages of 13.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. As a result of his impressive showing during the 2012-13 campaign, the Bulls rewarded Butler by inserting him into the starting lineup prior to the start of last season.
Unfortunately, Butler’s 2013-14 season did not get off to a great start. In fact, he was forced to miss 11 games due to a turf toe injury. But once he returned to the lineup, he became one of the most dependable players on the roster, averaging 38.7 minutes per game, which tied Carmelo Anthony for the highest mark in the league.
In addition to that, Butler recorded a career high in scoring with 13.1 points per contest to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals. However, while Butler is considered to be the best perimeter defender on the team, he struggled offensively with an overall shooting percentage of 39.7 and 28.3 percent from distance.
Fast forward to present day, as I stated earlier, Butler was the best player on the floor for the Bulls during the preseason with averages of 18.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting a sizzling 60 percent from the field. This includes a 29-point outing against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 16.
In that game, Butler scored 20 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and he hit the game-winning shot that gave the Bulls an 85-84 victory. And after missing the first two games of the regular season, Butler made his season debut against the Timberwolves and he picked up right where he left off during the preseason.
He scored 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including 11-for-15 from the charity stripe. And similar to his outing against the Hawks, Butler was clutch once again, drawing a foul in the closing seconds and icing the game with a pair of free throws, allowing the Bulls to escape with a 106-105 victory.
Although Butler has played well so far, how does he rank against his counterparts Walker and Rubio?
I’m glad you asked. Here is a look at each of their stats from the past three seasons.
Jimmy Butler
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/1/2014.
Kemba Walker
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/1/2014.
Ricky Rubio
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/1/2014.
Looking at the above tables, one could not be blamed for placing Walker slightly ahead of Butler based on the fact that his points and assists are higher than Butler’s. But when you look at Rubio’s stats, I find it difficult to understand why his averages of 9.5 points and 8.6 assists from last season would warrant an annual salary of $14 million per year.
Based on Rubio’s recent deal, I’m more than sure Butler feels he is worth at least that much to the Bulls and he had this to say when asked about his reasoning for turning down the Bulls’ offer, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
"“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.”"
It is not clear what the Bulls offered Butler. What is certain is Butler feels that he is worth more than the terms that were on the table. Whether he made the right decision cannot be answered until the end of the season when he becomes a restricted free agent.
If Butler continues to play like he did during the preseason, the Bulls should be more than happy to give him the money he is seeking. However, if that is not the case, Bulls fans may see another solid perimeter defender exit the building regardless of how much he has stated he wants to remain a Bull.