The Chicago Bulls are looking forward to a season as one of the premier contenders for the NBA championship, but after the year concludes they may be looking at replacing one of the building blocks of their future.
That’s because forward Jimmy Butler, whose rookie contract is set to expire at the end of the season, failed to agree to a new contract with the team, according to Butler’s agent Happy Walters. In a report filed by Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Butler rejected the team’s final offer of a contract on Friday morning and plans to enter restricted free agency in July.
Here’s what he told Wojnarowski via text message:
“It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself. It was about me believing that I put the work in this summer to become a better player with the hope that my improvement will give the Bulls a better chance to win a championship.”
The Bulls still have until 11 p.m. Central Time on Friday to agree to a new deal with Butler, but with the team set to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center, it’s highly unlikely that a new pact will be agreed to before that deadline.
Walters had some choice words for the Bulls when discussing why the two sides had failed to reach agreement on a contract:
“All the deals done so far have shown that teams are building around their stars of the future, and they’re compensating those players as such. I was under the impression Jimmy was also viewed as one of those future building blocks with the Bulls.”
Local
Complicating matters for the Bulls is that they will go into the offseason without a ton of wiggle room with their payroll. With players like Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol now in the fold, a big raise for Butler might complicate things a bit for Gar Forman and John Paxson, and if reports of him wanting $12 million per season are to be believed, then things could get interesting if he hits market and teams can sign him to an offer sheet. The Bulls will still have the option of matching any offer sheet since Butler will only be a restricted free agent, but that's still a scenario they would likely prefer to avoid.
Despite the gloom and doom portrayed by Wojnarowski, there is some reason for optimism for the Bulls. Back in 2012, Taj Gibson looked as though he would hit restricted free agency, but at the very last minute, the two sides agreed to a new contract. Could the same thing happen with Butler? Only time will tell, but at the moment, it appears that negotiations are done.
