Vincent Goodwill, who covers the Bulls for CSN Chicago, just spoke with ESPN’s Bomani Jones on his radio show The Right Time. Goodwill told Jones he believes that the Jimmy Butler trade rumors currently circling the NBA are not just smoke, but actual fire. He said that more so than ever before, the Bulls trading Butler is not just possible but likely. According to his sources, Gar Forman and John Paxson are not just fielding phone calls about their star player. They’re making calls, actively shopping him.
One league executive told Goodwill, “It’s either Boston or Cleveland but he’s going.”
The reason Goodwill gave for the front office shopping Jimmy was rather alarming.
“The relationship between Jimmy and Fred is just not good. It’s been bad basically since Day 1…Jimmy Butler’s frustration with Fred Hoiberg and Hoiberg’s inability to be strong with the young players, to have accountability….At some point the organization was going to have to make a choice.” – Vincent Goodwill
Goodwill expanded on that final thought, saying the Bulls front office wants to follow through on their investment of time and money into Hoiberg.
“The coach usually doesn’t get chosen. Usually it’s the player…In this case, the Bulls have a lot invested in Fred Hoiberg and they want this to work. They’re trying not to have this be another coaching mistake and pay another coach off because they had to fire him. So they’re trying to make this work and Unfortunately for Jimmy Butler it appears he’s going to be the casualty of that.” – Vincent Goodwill
Look, if Bulls management decides that trading Butler now to finally rebuild is the right move, I’m fine with that. But if they honestly think they’re better served putting their eggs in Fred’s coaching basket over Jimmy’s playing basket?
Yowza.
Paxson did acknowledge in their season-ending press conference that Butler’s playing style doesn’t fit Hoiberg’s offense, which is true. But it’s more than coaching and playing style. The two have obviously clashed on a personality level since Fred’s arrival. As Goodwill said, when those instances happen in the NBA, usually it’s the star player who drives the coach out of town. Apparently the Bulls just don’t see that level of stardom in Jimmy.
More updates as news warrants.
