2017 NBA Trade Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Jahlil Okafor, Nuggets firesale?

Jimmy Butler’s In The Middle Of A Mess

The Bulls assembled a mishmash of a fantasy basketball team and hoped they’d work well together. Dwyane Wade fell into their lap, and they inexplicably paired him with Rajon Rondo, failing to think about how they’d fit with Butler.

Wade and Butler have clicked, but Rondo is on the way out after his infamous Instagram post calling out the other two.

My vets would never go to the media. They would come to the team. My vets didn’t pick and choose when they wanted to bring it. They brought it every time they stepped in the gym whether it was practice or a game. They didn’t take days off. My vets didn’t care about their numbers. My vets played for the team. When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us. They took responsibility and got in the gym. 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. They showed us the seriousness of the game. My vets didn’t have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn’t change the plan because it didn’t work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches, and he held everyone accountable. It takes 1-15 to win. When you isolate everyone, you can’t win consistently. 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.

A photo posted by Rajon Rondo (@rajonrondo) on Jan 26, 2017 at 3:03pm PST

According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, some rival executives think the Bulls and Boston Celtics may hold trade discussions involving Butler before the Feb. 23 deadline. They’d be picking up talks Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported took place during the 2016 NBA draft.

Butler is having the best season of his career and was named an All-Star starter. He’s averaging a career-high 24.6 points per game and making threes at a respectable number again, (34.8 percent). Entering the season, Butler was a career 32.8 percent shooter from downtown.

Butler told CSN Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill that the lack of commitment from the Bulls’ front office didn’t bother him.

“Nope. Nothing surprises me nowadays,” Butler said Monday when asked whether he has been caught off guard by the absence of any firm statement from the team’s front office confirming he’s part of their future, per CSN Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill. “You know that. I’m not surprised by anything. Anything is possible. It’s a business at the end of the day. I love it here. They know that. The city knows that.”

Trading Butler would be a huge shift in the franchise’s movement. They traded Derrick Rose last summer to make room for Butler as the No. 1 guy, but it hasn’t worked out. Butler leads the team in total touches and passes received, and with Rondo being benched he’s taken over as the primary ball handler.

Chicago’s point guard situation is a mess and Butler has been asked to help clean it up. He’s needed to do too much. According to NBA.com, the Bulls are -7.0 points per 100 possessions when Butler sits. Considering he plays 36.6 minutes per game, the small amount of time that he’s off the court makes that even more incredible.

The Rondo/Wade experiment is a failure. Neither will be on the team next season. The question as to whether or not Jimmy Butler will be there remains unanswered.