Con #1: He’s Jimmy Freaking Butler
This is the only item needed on the con list, though I will expand upon it to make things clearer.
Other Ways To Add Youth & Picks
The Bulls can still shed other veterans on the roster in other trades to bring in more young pieces or draft picks to put around Butler. Taj Gibson’s value is at an all-time high, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Trade him as a half-season loaner to a contending team in need of some rim protection and offensive rebounding. The same can be said about Robin Lopez. I’d also suggest that GarPax test the market for Wade, but I don’t think it’s at all likely. Too much was made of his Chicago homecoming, and they have too much respect for him to ditch him midseason. And from a practical standpoint, his contract at his age isn’t likely to attract many buyers.
The bottom line is teams go through the rebuilding process, ideally, to land franchise-changing players at the top of the lottery. Draft a player with superstar potential and build around them. But here’s the thing: the Bulls already have a superstar in Butler. At 27, he still has at least 6 great seasons left in him. If GarPax had stuck to the plan and acquired young, athletic shooters last offseason instead of spending money on Wade and Rondo, they’d be well on their way to “retooling” the Bulls into a contender.
Let Butler Dominate
Just look at what the Bulls have accomplished in recent games without the services of the other two “alphas.” As Stephen Noh of The Athletic beautifully illustrated in his recent column, Hoiberg’s offense is running much more smoothly now that Butler is sharing the floor with shooters. In their win over Cleveland, for example, Fred used Doug McDermott to finish the 4th quarter instead of Wade. Because McDermott and Nikola Mirotic were hitting their shots Wednesday night, the Cavs couldn’t cheat on defense to double team Butler. With Doug and Niko drawing eyes around the perimeter, Jimmy had tons of space to operate. As a result, Butler scored 14 of his 20 points in the 4th to secure a Bulls victory. Where was Rondo? That’s right, on the bench.
It’s working for James Harden and the Houston Rockets. It works for LeBron James and the Cavs. Put a bunch of three point shooters around a ball-dominant superstar wing player. The Bulls could do this with Butler and a young supporting cast, if only GarPax gave Fred the right pieces. That’s still a possibility.
Basically Free
As a final note in the “con” column, let’s remember the contract Jimmy is playing on right now. Butler signed his 5 year max deal the season before the new and insanely high NBA salary cap kicked in. Compared to other quasi-stars who just signed new deals, the next two seasons of Butler’s contract are an absolute steal for the Bulls. He does have a player option before the 2019-20 season, but cross that bridge when you get to it. For now, GarPax should keep this great value in their pocket and actually try to build around him. Enough with the stop-gaps and overpaying veterans with declining skills. Butler is the best piece Chicago has, and one of the best pieces in the league. Keep him. Give him and Hoiberg some complimentary guys that fit his skillset and Hoiberg’s system.
I know it’s a lot to ask. If GarPax can’t get this right, they need to go away forever. Fortunately, it sounds (at least for now) like they plan on keeping Butler despite the recent rumors. Which is good, because he’s Jimmy Freaking Butler.
I felt like swapping out his usual middle initial “G” with something more emphatic. I hope it helped those of you still on the fence about this possible trade. You don’t trade Jimmy Freaking Butler.
