Basketballghana.com’s Yaw Adjei-Mintah looks at the rise of Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler
Years departed from hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy inside the Delta Center-home of the Utah Jazz now known as Vivint Smart Home Arena- in 1998, the Chicago Bulls have yet to reach such pristine heights.
After sacking defense-oriented head coach Tom Thibodeau in the offseason, the team from the Windy City sit second on the Eastern Conference standings behind favorites Cleveland Cavaliers. Their next game pitches them against the Indiana Pacers who lie third in the standings behind the Bulls having lost one more game than the latter.
New Coach Fred Hoiberg’s open offensive scheme that incorporates more perimeter generated points than his predecessor, have caused the Bulls to deploy virtually last season’s roster in a more faster and trigger happy way. Last season, the Bulls ranked 23rd in a league of 30 teams in pace according to basketballreference.com. The slow build up play allowed them to quickly get back on defense to thwart the attacks of opponenents; the team placed ninth in the league in defensive rating.
Behind the blurred vision of long time franchise centerpiece Derrick Rose, stands the new face of the Chicago Bulls; the one who will carry the six time champions to another title. The All-Star and Most Improved Player of the year accolades resspectively confirmed Butler’s legitimacy as what has been an increasing possibility ever since Rose’s career stalled as a result of injuries.
Mutter the words the numbers do not lie and a raucous affirmation of trust is what you will get. However, the numbers on the Chicago Bulls roster wage bill belies the true happenings on the court. Derrick Rose is the Bulls highest paid player and will be same for 2016-2017 seasons. Rose signed his mega contract on the back of a Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year season in 2010-2011. So significant was his achievement that a rule was created and named after him; the Derrick Rose rule.
This rule gives players operating on their first NBA contract or Rookie Scale Contract the prerogative of signing a contract extension worth 30% of a team’s salary cap. Conversely, the player must have been named to the All-Star lineup twice, an All-NBA team or in Rose’s case, been named an MVP. Jimmy Butler is already enjoying parts of his bumper deal he signed after stellar plays last season; signed a new five year contract worth $92 million dollars.
Quite curiously, Butler’s has come at the time of Derrick Rose’s decline. The Small Forward/ Shooting Guard has always been praised for his efforts on defense- two time All-NBA second team member-but is now an elite player based on his production at the offensive end. Averaging 8.6 and 13.1 points in his second and third years respectively, Butler’s production spiked to 20.0 last season and is averaging 21 points after 13 games this term.
The numbers do not lie; Butler also leads the Bulls in field-goals made (6.9), steals (2.1) and minutes played (36.5). Rose has featured in all but two games this season but assists aside, falls short of Butler’s averages in the aforementioned categories. In times past, such impressive statistics came in the absence of Rose just like last season. Derrick rose dealing with a myriad of injuries, was limited to just 51 games. During this time, Butler, playing in 14 more games than Rose, paced the Bulls in minutes, points and steal averages respectively.
In today’s world of sports entertainment, athletes who excel on both fronts enhance their appeal. For instance, Damian Lillard’s popularity isn’t entirely based on the things he does on the court, it also has a lot to do with the things he does off the court. Lillard’s consistent appearances on television for adidas and rapping on social media sites such as twitter has fuelled his popularity nationwide despite playing in the far north-western city of Portland.
His fame was considered one of the reasons for LaMarcus Aldridge’s move to the San Antonio Spurs; many allude to Aldridge’s shy nature and limited presence for Nike as contributing factors for his move. Likewise, Butler’s friendship with A-list actor Mark Wahlberg has pushed his popularity higher. He has been spotted several times hanging out with some of Wahlberg’s buddies including Taylor Swift and the cast of top selling movie Entourage which Wahlberg produced. On the other hand, Rose’s introverted nature makes him prefer to shy away from the spotlight.
Unlike LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant- players who are veteran celebrity athletes and leaders of their teams- Butler has handled his new found status very well despite he being thrust into such a position just last year. He does the right things and says the right things at the right time. Like James, he has been critical of his team’s slack play especially on defense in some games played this season.
His statement’s are a clear departure from Rose’s comments on his impending free agency period in 2017 where he stated that he was looking forward to becoming a free agent in order to cash in big time on the massive cash flow set to hit the league.
Derrick Rose stepped into the shoes of Michael Jordan as the Chicago Bulls cornerstone but in the present and forseeable future, Chicago is Jimmy Butler’s.
