Report: Bulls telling teams they plan on keeping Jimmy Butler

clonetrooper264

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http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/05/05/report-bulls-telling-teams-they-plan-on-keeping-jimmy-butler/

By Kurt HelinMay 5, 2016, 8:00 AM EDT

The Chicago Bulls are trying to find their identity. They used to be a defensive team, but they went and got an offensive coach in Fred Hoiberg and by the end of the season had slid badly on that end of the floor. They are no longer Derrick Rose‘s team. They didn’t have the personnel to run Hoiberg’s system. The Bulls need to figure out who they are, then decide which players on the roster should be part of the team moving forward.
Expect Jimmy Butler to be part of that future. He’s the best player on the team, but herubs some teammates the wrong way, and there have been rumors the Bulls would listen to trade offers.

That got teams calling to test the waters, but the Bulls are telling those teams they plan to hold on to Butler, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

A league source tells CSNNE.com that the Bulls, while still open to listening to offers for Butler, are telling teams that are inquiring about his availability that their plan for now is to keep him in the fold.
And while there was some thought that a top-3 pick coupled with a few decent players might be enough to entice the Bulls to pull the trigger on a deal to trade Butler, CSNNE.com has been told such an offer would have to include at least one “legitimate, NBA starter” for the Bulls to even possibly consider trading him.
“And that might be a stretch,” the source indicated.


What is the hardest part of assembling a potential NBA title contender? Finding the elite, cornerstone player you need who can lead your team at both ends of the floor. The Chicago Bulls have that in Butler, and he’s locked up until at least the summer of 2019 on a good contract (a max contract before the TV deal money kicked in; there is a player option for a fifth season reaching into 2020). Why would they trade him?

Stranger things have happened, especially with the Bulls, but unless they want to tear it all down and rebuild — and they don’t — getting rid of Butler doesn’t make sense.

The better question is who will be around Butler come next fall?

 

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So basically it sounds like they would only trade Butler for a top 3 pick and a solid starter, like say Avery Bradley or D'Angelo Russell. That'll be a hard sell.

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Shocking. This further demonstrates the myopic vision of the Bulls organization. I would even go so far as to call it insanity. They stick with the same players, same roster structure, and expect different results. That is insane.

We have enough sample size to see that the core of Rose/Butler/Noah/Gibson does not work if you're trying to get to an eastern conference final, let alone win an NBA championship. The only move that makes sense is a roster rebuild. In order to rebuild the roster, you must start from the top because that's where the value is. Butler's behavior during this past season should be an indicator that he cannot be your "cornerstone.". You must trade him now, before other teams catch wind of his dysfunctional behavior and his value drops. The same applies to Rose. Taj is old and limited offensively, and should be traded. Noah should not be retained this summer under any circumstances because he is broken and diminished. Keeping these guys together moving forward only gaurantees more of the same old results. Most fans get comfortable with the status quo. Frankly, I'm tired of watching the Bulls go down year after year because of these idiots with their megalomania, selfishness, and teenage prom queen drama.




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theinfamousdvs

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Before we go overboard...let's seriously consider the options.

We currently have an elite (Top 3-5?) shooting guard with an excellent work ethic....a stallion who's been in the top MPG for a few seasons now.

And y'all are mad that the Bulls want to keep him? On a value (relatively speaking) contract?

Look...I know GarPaxDorf is frustrating beyond all measure...but let's be realistic here. SG like Butler don't come along often.

The issue isn't Butler or his contract. It's the other pieces surrounding him.
 

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No, the issue is Butler.

It wasn't the pieces around him that called out the coach in public.

It wasn't the pieces around him that refused to run iHoiberg's offense and instead ran isolations.
 
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houheffna

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No, the issue is Butler.

It wasn't the pieces around him that called out the coach in public.

It wasn't the pieces around him that refused to run isolations instead of Hoiberg's offense

I think you meant the opposite. If so, I agree with you 100% plus a few other reasons.
 

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So basically it sounds like they would only trade Butler for a top 3 pick and a solid starter, like say Avery Bradley or D'Angelo Russell. That'll be a hard sell.

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I wonder if the better trade might be Rose for Russell and a top 3 pick. Putting ROse and Russell in the same back-court would be pathetic to watch together!
 

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I wonder if the better trade might be Rose for Russell and a top 3 pick. Putting ROse and Russell in the same back-court would be pathetic to watch together!
For the last time, no one wants Rose. Especially not in that trade.

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Enasic

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So Pax said changes were coming, the roster would look different, and that no one is untouchable. I guess what he meant was the roster will look different because Gasol will be gone and they'll add another rookie with their draft pick. Only Michael Jordan is untouchable and while Jimmy Butler isn't untouchable, they're not going to trade him. Same moronic, contradicting, and inept front office running the show.
 

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So Pax said changes were coming, the roster would look different, and that no one is untouchable. I guess what he meant was the roster will look different because Gasol will be gone and they'll add another rookie with their draft pick. Only Michael Jordan is untouchable and while Jimmy Butler isn't untouchable, they're not going to trade him. Same moronic, contradicting, and inept front office running the show.
Well they also once said they were re-signing Gasol, so there's that...

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RacerX

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Shocking. This further demonstrates the myopic vision of the Bulls organization. I would even go so far as to call it insanity. They stick with the same players, same roster structure, and expect different results. That is insane.

We have enough sample size to see that the core of Rose/Butler/Noah/Gibson does not work if you're trying to get to an eastern conference final, let alone win an NBA championship. The only move that makes sense is a roster rebuild. In order to rebuild the roster, you must start from the top because that's where the value is. Butler's behavior during this past season should be an indicator that he cannot be your "cornerstone.". You must trade him now, before other teams catch wind of his dysfunctional behavior and his value drops. The same applies to Rose. Taj is old and limited offensively, and should be traded. Noah should not be retained this summer under any circumstances because he is broken and diminished. Keeping these guys together moving forward only gaurantees more of the same old results. Most fans get comfortable with the status quo. Frankly, I'm tired of watching the Bulls go down year after year because of these idiots with their megalomania, selfishness, and teenage prom queen drama.




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GarPax remind me of JA/Lovie, they are managing first & foremost with one agenda item: to keep their jobs. Winning a championship is the frosting, they just want to get paid. I am not implying that they don't really, really want to win a title, just they won't take the steps necessary because of the downside risk.

To compete for a championship (similar to the Bears' situation a few years ago) the team needs a complete rebuild, but the FO isn't confident they can survive taking a few steps back for a reset, it's a higher risk-profile then they are willing to take.

So, what do tbey do? Lower the risk-profile by ensuring mediocrity. Returning all the same players (sans Gasol) will leave them in the 40-44 win range, enough for them to keep drawing paychecks.

Bulls fans are fucked for the foreseeable future.
 

Enasic

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Well they also once said they were re-signing Gasol, so there's that...

Sent from the mod station in Nome, Alaska.

Yeah....lol...and then Gar kind of backed off. These guys are clueless. As long as they reach the playoffs, they're happy. They're not fully committed to championships. They'll probably let Gasol go and trade Taj and say "Hey, we made changes and we liked the direction of the team with Fred in year two"
 

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GarPax remind me of JA/Lovie, they are managing first & foremost with one agenda item: to keep their jobs. Winning a championship is the frosting, they just want to get paid. I am not implying that they don't really, really want to win a title, just they won't take the steps necessary because of the downside risk.

To compete for a championship (similar to the Bears' situation a few years ago) the team needs a complete rebuild, but the FO isn't confident they can survive taking a few steps back for a reset, it's a higher risk-profile then they are willing to take.

So, what do tbey do? Lower the risk-profile by ensuring mediocrity. Returning all the same players (sans Gasol) will leave them in the 40-44 win range, enough for them to keep drawing paychecks.

Bulls fans are fucked for the foreseeable future.

Give it another year, Bulls fans will start hating this team.
 

theinfamousdvs

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I see a lot of complaints about the FO...but I'm not seeing a lot of viable options for change. It's easy to say the FO sucks (they kinda do)...but look at the reality of the league.

The Bulls had a legitimate shot at the title before LeBron decided to form the Heatles....then D Rose got injured.
They still managed to put up also ran numbers until this season...but were constantly snakebit by injuries at crucial moments.

Now...LeBron is running with Kyrie and Love with a philosophy to get a decent seed and then turn it on in the playoffs.

Name me a free agent that will change that? Name me a franchise decision that will change that?

You think we are signing Durant? Not happening. You think Melo was the answer? Look at the Knicks for the past few years.
Name ONE key development that the FO could have done. Because outside of drafting Draymond (who NO one knew would be THAT good...even Thibs) and Dieng (and I was heartbroken when they didn't draft this one)...the only viable option for this team was staying the course and hoping that they could actually field the HEALTHY team they constructed.

I'm all about team "EFF THE FO" but....y'all gotta be fair, man.
 

Enasic

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I see a lot of complaints about the FO...but I'm not seeing a lot of viable options for change. It's easy to say the FO sucks (they kinda do)...but look at the reality of the league.

The Bulls had a legitimate shot at the title before LeBron decided to form the Heatles....then D Rose got injured.
They still managed to put up also ran numbers until this season...but were constantly snakebit by injuries at crucial moments.

Now...LeBron is running with Kyrie and Love with a philosophy to get a decent seed and then turn it on in the playoffs.

Name me a free agent that will change that? Name me a franchise decision that will change that?

You think we are signing Durant? Not happening. You think Melo was the answer? Look at the Knicks for the past few years.
Name ONE key development that the FO could have done. Because outside of drafting Draymond (who NO one knew would be THAT good...even Thibs) and Dieng (and I was heartbroken when they didn't draft this one)...the only viable option for this team was staying the course and hoping that they could actually field the HEALTHY team they constructed.

I'm all about team "EFF THE FO" but....y'all gotta be fair, man.

It goes beyond this year though. They consistently undermined a top 5 coach in the league and replaced him with their buddy who isn't even a decent NBA head coach. They whiffed on quite a few draft picks over the past few years, and they never upgraded the team once Derrick got injured.

Then, after the last game of the season, Pax had this bizarre press confidence filled with contradictions. He wasn't blaming the season on injuries buuuut....he reminded us about the injuries and who knows what could have happened if they were healthy. He said guys weren't fighting and that changes to the roster were coming. He also said he didn't believe the problem was necessarily a personnel issue. Then he went on to say he needed to get Fred the right guys. So it wasn't a personnel issue, but you need to shakeup the roster and get Fred different players? Hmm....the only thing I really agreed with him on was that Fred needs a lot of work as a coach. He politely bashed the hell out of Hoiberg saying he needs to get better and decide who he wants to be as a coach, needs to hold guys accountable, more attention to detail etc etc. You go from having an elite coach to hiring a guy still wet behind the ears who needs to get significantly better and quick. He wants next years training camp to be the most intense training camp possible. Fred and "intense" don't go together. Although, I do know another coach who fits that bill.

As far as changes, I think it makes a lot of sense to start the rebuild now and trade Jimmy. He could opt out after year 4 and I sincerely doubt he has any interest in staying here. There is no way this time will be championship caliber by that time and we have zero young, promising building blocks. Trade Jimmy for a rotational player and a top 3 pick, gain some cap space, and re-start this thing the right way instead of treading water like they always do. How are you going to call a press conference the last day of the season and talk about roster changes and trot out the same roster minus Gasol and adding another rookie? Same shit, different year.
 

clonetrooper264

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I see a lot of complaints about the FO...but I'm not seeing a lot of viable options for change. It's easy to say the FO sucks (they kinda do)...but look at the reality of the league.

The Bulls had a legitimate shot at the title before LeBron decided to form the Heatles....then D Rose got injured.
They still managed to put up also ran numbers until this season...but were constantly snakebit by injuries at crucial moments.

Now...LeBron is running with Kyrie and Love with a philosophy to get a decent seed and then turn it on in the playoffs.

Name me a free agent that will change that? Name me a franchise decision that will change that?

You think we are signing Durant? Not happening. You think Melo was the answer? Look at the Knicks for the past few years.
Name ONE key development that the FO could have done. Because outside of drafting Draymond (who NO one knew would be THAT good...even Thibs) and Dieng (and I was heartbroken when they didn't draft this one)...the only viable option for this team was staying the course and hoping that they could actually field the HEALTHY team they constructed.

I'm all about team "EFF THE FO" but....y'all gotta be fair, man.
I guess for me the most viable thing they could've done was to get a scoring guard not named Richard Hamilton. Now, if Rip had been healthy and Rose didn't injure himself then perhaps it's a different story, but with our 20/20 hindsight we can say that signing Rip was a fail. I guess we needed what Jimmy has become back in 2010. We got to the ECF with Keith Bogans as our starter...surely they could have improved that.

But yes, much of the success of this team has been predicated on health, particularly Rose's health. Well...too bad his career died in 2012. We've been essentially screwed since then as a result.
 

Enasic

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I guess for me the most viable thing they could've done was to get a scoring guard not named Richard Hamilton. Now, if Rip had been healthy and Rose didn't injure himself then perhaps it's a different story, but with our 20/20 hindsight we can say that signing Rip was a fail. I guess we needed what Jimmy has become back in 2010. We got to the ECF with Keith Bogans as our starter...surely they could have improved that.

But yes, much of the success of this team has been predicated on health, particularly Rose's health. Well...too bad his career died in 2012. We've been essentially screwed since then as a result.

What's worse is they're talking about re-signing Noah who just happens to be breaking down and another injury risk (probability).

If I had to guess, the front offices plan is to give a career role player like Harrison Barnes a max contract or give a super max contract to solid, yet unspectacular Al Horford. They're going to overspend on one of the weakest free agent classes instead of holding onto their money, developing younger guys, and capitalizing on one of the deepest free agent classes in recent memory in the 2017 class. I hope I'm wrong though.
 

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