Central Notes: Butler, Lue, Draft

Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler reaffirmed his desire to remain with in Chicago and said that he will definitely be with the team next season, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. “I love the city of Chicago. I’ve played here my entire career,” Butler said. “Let’s not get that misunderstood. I love the guys that we have on the roster. We continue to bring in high-character guys. I’m learning with [Fred] Hoiberg. I’m not perfect, I’ll tell you that. But I’m ready. I think I have to be able to help this team win games, though, that’s for sure.”

When asked if he believes he will be with the team in 2016/17, Butler told Friedell, “Yeah, I think so. I definitely do. I do think that with the year that we did have last season — it’s unacceptable. So you have to then, truth be told, you got to look at everything. I didn’t do my job, so truth be told, can I help this team win? That’s the question that’s brought up. And I can’t be mad at that. You can use whatever excuse you want to use, but we didn’t make the playoffs. That’s all anybody sees and that’s rightfully so. So do I think I’m going to be here? Yeah, I think so. But that’s just me thinking.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

• The Bucks held a workout on Wednesday that included A.J. English (Iona), Trahson Burrell (Memphis), Joel Bolomboy (Weber State), Matt Tiby (UW-Milwaukee), Jameel Warney (Stony Brook) and Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), the team announced.
• Seton Hall sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead cancelled his workout with the Pacers that was scheduled for Wednesday and the player is giving serious consideration to returning to school for his junior campaign, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.
• The hiring of Tyronn Lue as coach and his willingness to confront LeBron James and regain control of the team turned around the Cavaliers‘ season and made Cleveland a true threat to win the NBA crown, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes.