Chicago Bulls: Is Jimmy Butler a Franchise Player?

The Chicago Bulls have built a team with extraordinary depth and balance on both ends of the floor. There are elite defensive players, dynamic dribble-penetrators and a cast of sharpshooters to space the floor for a low-post maestro in Pau Gasol.

The question after the 2015 period of free agency is quite simple: can Jimmy Butler play as well as he’s paid to become the franchise player?

Butler, 25, officially signed the dotted line on a new contract with the Bulls. It was evidence that Butler, who turned down what he deemed to be a lowball offer from the Bulls before the 2014-15 season began, made the right decision to gamble on himself.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on July 1 that the deal would be worth $95 million over five seasons.

The Bulls confirmed the finalized signing via Twitter.

Butler is back and the Bulls are better because of it. The question is, will his quality of play match his contract?

If it does, the Eastern Conference could have a different favorite than expected.

Under the rising salary cap, Butler’s contract won’t be quite as big of a financial hit. Regardless of what the cap becomes, Butler’s contract is a sign that he’s considered to be elite.

That’s both an honor and a burden that every max contract player must carry.

Individually, Butler is one of the best players at his position. He won Most Improved Player and was an All-Star in 2015, and already has two All-Defensive Team selections on his resume.

On top of the accolades, Butler’s 2014-15 campaign signaled his arrival on the scene as a force to be reckoned with.

The former Marquette Golden Eagles star set career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and 3-point field goals made per game. He also set new a career-high in free throw percentage.

Considering he did all of this while making the most field goals, 3-point field goals and free throws of his career, it was as believable a breakout as one will find in the NBA.

Butler finished the regular season with averages of 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.1 3-point field goals made per game. He did this on a very efficient slash line of .462/.378/.834.

Mix in Butler’s brand of top-tier on-ball defense and it’s not hard to see why Butler was paid as lucratively as he was.

Come the playoffs, Butler stayed the course with averages of 22.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.3 3-point field goals on a slash line of .441/.389/.819. Thus, the idea of his being a fluke is becoming increasingly more difficult to support.

If nothing else, Butler has established himself as a two-way player who will defend at an elite level and score at a high volume with reliable efficiency.

The pressure that comes from playing for the Bulls is immense. The organization won six championships in the 1990s, but hasn’t won a single title in any other decade.

Butler will be welcome in Chicago from start-to-finish, but his individual expectations will increase as his paycheck does. It doesn’t exactly make life easier to play the same position as Michael Jordan.

Fortunately, Butler’s already shown that he can shine in the NBA Playoffs.

In order for the Bulls to turn a corner and win a championship, Butler needs to perform at that level on an even more consistent basis.

The pressure will be alleviated, to some extent, by Fred Hoiberg‘s team-oriented system and the presence of offensive stars Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose. Given Rose’s injury history and Gasol’s age, however, Butler will be shouldering a bigger load than previously expected.

From Gasol and Rose to Butler and Nikola Mirotic, the Bulls are in the midst of a shift of offensive power.

A healthy Rose is still dynamic and explosive, but it’s reached a point at which Chicago needs a more dependable source of scoring. Butler willingly and capably filled that role in 2014-15, and Mirotic showed signs of being able to do the same.

Flashes and brief moments of glory simply won’t suffice for a Bulls team that has a simultaneously bright future and closing window.

Gasol is 35 years old and Joakim Noah is 30 with an injury-plagued 2014-15 to overcome. Mike Dunleavy was a sneakily brilliant re-signing, but he’ll turn 35 before the 2015-16 season begins.

With Rose’s health likely to reside as an eternal question mark, 2015-16 might be the best shot Chicago has at winning an elusive seventh championship.

According to Spotrac.com, Butler is on pace to be paid a higher salary in 2015-16 than any shooting guard not named Kobe Bryant or Joe Johnson. That includes MVP candidate James Harden and reigning NBA champion Klay Thompson.

As beautiful a story as Butler’s path to NBA stardom is, the expectations are growing daily. There’s no time left for developing the future in Chicago, even with Hoiberg entering his first year as head coach.

The Bulls need to win now, and the only way they’ll do so is if Butler proves to be a genuine franchise player.

Is he?

Next: Which Chicago Bulls star would be elite in any era in NBA history?

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