Chicago Bulls: Remembering the 2016-2017 Bulls of Rondo, Wade, Butler

Remember when Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Jimmy Butler all teamed up on the Chicago Bulls? If not, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

The Chicago Bulls franchise has quite seen the best of times, and the worst of times over the years. They’re a franchise home to six championships, and arguably the best player of all time, Michael Jordan. But over the last decade, it’s been somewhat grey.

Chicago had a strong playoff showing over a few years, thanks to 2011 MVP Derrick Rose and 2015 Most Improved Player Jimmy Butler. But since, April has been a quiet time for the Bulls.

In between the Rose-Butler era, and the current bottom-end Bulls of the Eastern Conference, Chicago had assembled what has been one of the tackiest “Big 3’s” in recent history.

Their names? Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, and Jimmy Butler. This is their story.

In the summer of 2016, Chicago was coming off a 42-40 season, which at the time meant they finished 9th in the East and just missed the postseason. With one year left on his deal, the Bulls traded franchise face Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks in exchange for big man Robin Lopez.

It was then that they handed the keys to Butler, a reign that would be short-lived in Chicago.

To help Butler in his first season as “the guy” in Chicago, the Bulls brought in a former MVP in the twilight of his career in Wade, on a two-year deal worth $40 million. Quite the payday for a 34-year-old entering his 14th NBA season.

For starting point guard, Chicago made a deal with Rondo for two years and $28 million. Another luxurious contract for a guy joining his fourth team in three seasons.

What could go wrong?

The Bulls started this season rather poorly as most would imagine. Integrating two all-time greats in Rondo and Wade into an offense headlined by Butler would no doubt take time. Chicago went 11-9 over their first 20 games, and then 8-12 over the following 20 games.

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First-year head coach, Fred Hoiberg, began experimenting with lineups. The Bulls didn’t want to simply be a .500 team in the Eastern Conference. After a late December loss to the Indiana Pacers, Hoiberg benched Rondo in favor of 2014 Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams.

It was a move that betrayed desperation and didn’t yield the desired results. Carter-Williams filled the role for just 12 games, a stretch that saw the Bulls go 6-6. He was later injured, but instead of returning to Rondo, Hoiberg turned to Jerian Grant to fill the starting role.

That began the cycle of tension and dramatics that would follow the Chicago Bulls into the season’s end.

It can’t be easy managing the egos of three alphas like Wade, Rondo, and Butler. From what we’ve seen in recent years, it may be impossible to keep Butler under wraps, period. He’s found himself traded off of his last two teams, albeit now thriving with the Miami Heat.

Still, giving Hoiberg this kind of task in his first year as a head coach, and first in the NBA mind you, is an incredibly questionable decision looking back. And he quickly proved he wasn’t up to the task.

For starters, a sort of behind-the-scenes hierarchy develops in the locker room, for obvious reasons. Each of the Chicago Bulls’ Big 3 feels as if they have value to offer in terms of wisdom and a certain respect to command. On multiple occasions that season were reports released about drama within the locker room.

On one occasion in January, Wade and Butler called out the team to the media after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Both guards questioned the validity of their teammates’ dedication.

Wade initiated the dialogue:

"“I don’t know if they care enough,” Wade said of his teammates. “So I can’t say it is. I wish I could say that everyone in here is going to go home and not eat tonight. I can’t say that. I wish I could, but I don’t know that they care enough.”"

And then Butler echoed the same point:

"“At the end of the day, do whatever it takes to help the team win. You play your role to the tee. Be a star in your role, man. That’s how you win in this league, man. You have to embrace what this team, what this organization needs for you to do on either end of the floor.”"

It goes on for much longer than that, but you get the point. This was no doubt the nail in the coffin of a team that had already underwhelmed expectations. And don’t worry, Rondo had something to say about all of this, as he always does.

In an Instagram post, where he posted a photo of his former Boston Celtics team, the guard said:

"“My vets would never go to the media,” Rondo wrote. “They would come to the team. My vets didn’t pick and choose when they wanted to bring it. … They showed the young guys what it meant to work. Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. … I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a bad teammate. My goal is to pass what I learned along. The young guys work. They show up. They don’t deserve blame. If anything is questionable, it’s the leadership.”"

From there, the Bulls never truly recovered. Following that loss to the Hawks, Chicago went 19-16 to close out the 2016-2017 campaign at 42-40. It was an improvement from the prior season assuredly, but everyone around the league felt the Bulls were continuing to step backwards.

Chicago made the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, playing in a thrilling first-round matchup against Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics. But Rondo injured his thumb, was ruled out indefinitely, and they ultimately lost the series 4-2.

The 2016-2017 season is one to forget for the Chicago Bulls. It truly goes to show that sometimes pulling the best available talent together doesn’t always guarantee a winning team.

And that when it goes bad, it can go really bad.