Chicago Bulls: Selecting franchise’s 2010 All-Decade team
Shooting Guard of the decade: Jimmy Butler
Fresh off an Eastern Conference finals appearance, the Bulls selected Jimmy Butler with the 30th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Upon being picked by the Bulls, Butler stated that he wanted to help Chicago knock off the team that had just defeated them in the playoffs: The Miami Heat.
Despite his desire to be a key rotational player, Butler’s rookie season wasn’t a memorable one. He averaged just 2.6 points on 40.5 percent shooting in 8.5 minutes per contest. Butler did up his scoring average by a full six points per outing during his second season, but he still hadn’t become a household name just yet.
During his third NBA season, Butler improved his scoring average to 13.1 points per contest and proved to be one of the best defenders on the team. After establishing himself as a solid defender, Butler then became the Bulls’ No. 1 scoring option, as he went on to average at least 20 points per contest in each of the next three seasons and winning the Most Improved Player award in 2015.
Despite the fact Butler had proven he was a top-15 player at both ends of the floor, the front office opted to go in a different direction after the Bulls were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
During that offseason, the team sent Butler and its No. 16 pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick, which turned out to be Lauri Markkanen.
Since that time, the Bulls have won a total of 49 games over the past two seasons. With those results, some Bulls fans are left pondering what might have been had the team chose to build a roster around Butler.