The Chicago Bulls lost their representative in the NBA All-Star Game when Jimmy Butler was forced to drop out of the game with a knee injury, but the team will have another player representing the team in Toronto as Pau Gasol was named as Butler’s replacement.
The decision was reached by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday afternoon. Gasol nearly made the team as a starter in fan voting, falling just short of passing Carmelo Anthony in the final tabulations.
To his credit, Gasol is having a solid season even with the Bulls’ floundering in the standings. He is averaging over 17 points and just under 11 rebounds per game, and even though his name has been floated as a potential trade candidate for a Bulls team looking to reshape their roster before the NBA trade deadline, he has been one of the most consistent offensive performers that the team has.
As for Butler, the Bulls announced on Tuesday that he would miss three to four weeks with a strained left knee. That rules him out of making a second consecutive All-Star appearance, and it also could potentially hurt the Bulls as they hold a very narrow lead for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
