Jimmy Butler Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Deadline Previews, Butler, Williams, Rubio, Caldwell-Pope

February 17th, 2017 at 11:04pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Bulls are at a “real crossroads” at this year’s trade deadline, Mark Strotman of CSN Chicago writes. With a 28-29 record, Chicago enters the All-Star break as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. Given the top-heavy conference, Strotman notes, even the most optimistic fan wouldn’t have the Bulls projected to advance past the first round of the playoffs. Taj Gibson will be mentioned in trade rumors, as will Robin Lopez and Doug McDermott. While Jimmy Butler has “peak trade value,” the Bulls have incentives to keep the 27-year-old; particularly on his team-friendly contract.

For what it’s worth, Butler reportedly isn’t interested in being traded. Sources told Seerat Sohi of ESPN that Butler is “grounded in Chicago,” and feels loyalty to the franchise that took a chance on him in the 2011 draft.

Central Notes: Butler, Maker, Drummond

February 11th, 2017 at 2:40pm CST by Austin Kent

Though he hasn’t been officially ruled out for Sunday’s contest, Jimmy Butler may have reaggravated the heel injury that kept him out of three games last week. On Friday night, in his first-game back, the Bulls swingman was seen limping on the court, visibly affected by the foot injury.

When asked if the pain on Friday will limit him heading forward, the Bulls All-Star didn’t seem sure. “That’s a good question,” Butler told ESPN’s Nick Friedell following a loss to the Suns. “That’s a really good question.”

In 49 games with the Bulls this season, the 27-year-old has put forth career-high averages of 24.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Even despite the lingering heel pain, Butler managed to post 20 points in his return from the injury.

Earlier in the week, an MRI concluded that there was no structural damage in the Bulls forward’s heel but it may be beneficial in the long run for the organization to rest their star before it grows worse. As of today, Butler is expected to play in the NBA All-Star Game on February 19.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Rookie Thon Maker started in place of the injured Jabari Parker for the first time Friday night but wasn’t as effective as he wanted to be. “I thought I came out a little flat, and I can’t do that from here on out,” the Bucks prospect told Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I have to be effective. I can’t wait until we’re down 30 or whatever it was. I’ve got to do that from the jump.” To Maker’s credit, his energy in the second half led to the Bucks at least temporarily cutting into the lead before they ultimately lost to the Lakers.
Second-year Bulls forward hasn’t seen as many minutes as he was seeing earlier in the season but he’s committed to staying ready, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. “Before every game I psych myself up like I am going to play,” Portis says. Though typically efficient with the court time he’s given, Portis has averaged just 5.6 minutes per game in February after averaging 14.4 in January.
Though he’s always posted decent steal numbers, Andre Drummond is starting to round out his game on the defensive end, writes Eric Woodyard of MLive. “I think he’s improved a little bit over the last three or four games, in terms of coming to block,” Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said. The Pistons have won four of their past six contests and currently sit eighth in the East with a 25-29 record.

Latest On Carmelo Anthony

February 8th, 2017 at 3:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Knicks team president Phil Jackson appears to be pressuring Carmelo Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, but the public campaign is making the 9-time All-Star’s desire to stay with New York even stronger, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. “[Jackson]’s underestimating ‘Melo’s willingness to stay,” a source told Wojnarowski.

Anthony has privately told some of his teammates that he won’t let Jackson run him out of town, according to Wojnarowski. The scribe adds that the Knicks have contacted the Clippers, Celtics, and Cavs about an Anthony deal, but the teams have put together underwhelming proposals that include only role players. Anthony has privately indicated an interest in those three teams, but the Knicks haven’t found a package they are willing to accept.

Boston hasn’t shown much interest in Anthony. The franchise is much more enamored with Jimmy Butler and Paul George since they are both younger and their games are more well-rounded, Wojnarowski adds.

The Knicks may search for trades outside those three teams and attempt to persuade Anthony to waive his no-trade clause to go to another team, though New York hasn’t yet begun that process. Wojnarowski adds that if Jackson had employed more transparent approach, Anthony would have been more open to finding an agreeable solution, which may have included agreeing to a trade. However, Jackson’s antics have severely damaged the relationship and it may be beyond repair.

Central Notes: Bulls, Jackson, Bucks

February 7th, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by Austin Kent

The Bulls are in a tough spot trying to make trades before the deadline while remaining in a position to be competitive, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune in a weekly mailbag post. Johnson confirms previous reports that Nikola Mirotic and Rajon Rondo have been made available but suggests that Taj Gibson‘s status would be a better judge of the front office’s mindset heading forward.

Gibson, a 31-year-old eight-year veteran, has averaged 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Bulls, emerging as a stable source of leadership in the starting lineup. Shopping him, Johnson suggests, would be considered aggressive. The scribe also speculates that the forward could be offered in exchange for a first-round pick, but Johnson doesn’t see that happening.

Also of note out of the Tribune’s Bulls mailbag is the implication that 24-year-old Cristiano Felicio may be better suited as a reserve player than as a starter for the foreseeable future. Johnson applauds the big man’s athleticism and notes his room for offensive improvement but goes on to suggest that current starting center Robin Lopez‘s contract, which stretches through 2018-19, renders the idea a non-issue.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Asked if he was bothered by the fact that the Bulls‘ front office hasn’t explicitly stated that their small forward is off the market, Jimmy Butler claimed to be unphased. “Nope, I don’t care,” he told the media on Monday.
In response to Stan Van Gundy saying that “everybody is available,” Aaron McMann of MLive ranked Pistons players based on how likely they are to be traded before the February 23 deadline. Heading the list is Aron Baynes, while Reggie Bullock and Reggie Jackson round out the top three. Jackson, it’s worth mentioning, would presumably bring in the biggest haul, despite the fact that his numbers have declined from last year.
It became clear that the Bucks are willing to shake up their roster when they moved Miles Plumlee for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes. Now Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times believes that another trade – one for backcourt support – could be in order as the team struggles in the new year. Before Saturday’s victory over the Suns, the Bucks had lost 10 of their previous 11.
He may not be called upon specifically, but Lavoy Allen is a smart basketball player capable of filling a role, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. The 28-year-old vet, whose recorded 12 DNP-CDs already this season, broke out over the weekend with an 18-point, 11-rebound performance. “He’s been doing what we know he’s capable of doing,” Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. “Solid defender, he rebounds the ball, plays the pick and roll. […] He just plays in the flow of the game. We didn’t run plays for him, he was just making reads.”

Kennedy’s Latest: Jefferson, Mahinmi, Ibaka, Magic

February 6th, 2017 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

A trade between the Hornets and Bucks last week featured three centers, with Roy Hibbert, Spencer Hawes, and Miles Plumlee all changing teams, and that certainly won’t be the last deal of the month involving bigs. A Western Conference executive tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype that a handful of teams around the NBA have been shopping recently-acquired big men in the hopes of finding a deal.

According to Kennedy, Pacers center Al Jefferson, Wizards center Ian Mahinmi, and Magic big man Serge Ibaka are among the players believed to be available. Ibaka’s name recently surfaced in trade rumors, and it comes as no surprise that Jefferson and Mahinmi could be had in the right deal as well — Jefferson has seen his role significantly reduced this season in Indiana, while Mahinmi has barely played for Washington due to health problems.

Kennedy passes along a few more items of interest in his latest piece, so let’s round up a few highlights…

Kennedy asked multiple sources which NBA teams will be most eager to make a trade before the deadline, and each of those sources mentioned the Magic. Additionally, some people around the league believe general manager Rob Hennigan is on the hot seat in Orlando, writes Kennedy.
Last week, a Chicago Tribune report indicated that rival executives believe the Celtics and Bulls will revisit Jimmy Butler trade talks this month. Kennedy heard that prediction from several executives as well, though one exec said Chicago can be “tough to negotiate with,” while another suggested that the Bulls might be more inclined to wait until the offseason for a move of that magnitude.
Trade rumors have swirled around Carmelo Anthony as of late, but the star forward controls his future due to his no-trade clause. According to Kennedy, many people around the league aren’t convinced that the marriage between the Knicks and Phil Jackson will be a long-term one, so it’s possible – as one executive suggests – that Anthony will decide to stay with the Knicks this month and then see if anything happens with Jackson this summer.

Bulls Rumors: Butler, Front Office, Valentine

February 1st, 2017 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

During a segment on ESPN Radio this week (audio link via Aldo Soto), Ryen Russillo passed along an interesting story he had heard about Jimmy Butler and the Bulls’ front office, explaining why the star forward doesn’t trust the team’s decision-makers. According to Russillo, after Butler passed on signing a rookie-scale extension in 2014, Chicago’s front office threatened to reduce his minutes to diminish his value heading into restricted free agency. As Russillo tells it, Tom Thibodeau stepped in to make sure that didn’t happen, and the Bulls and Butler ultimately got a deal done in free agency, but Butler’s mistrust of the team’s front office has endured, and has extended to current head coach Fred Hoiberg as well.

Asked today about Russillo’s story, Butler said that he doesn’t really remember “what went on” during extension negotiations, adding that it happened a long time ago and that it’s no one’s business anyway (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com). While that’s not exactly a confirmation of the report, it’s hardly a strong denial either, which suggests there may be some truth to Russillo’s account.

Here are a few more Bulls notes:

When he was specifically asked today about his relationship with Bulls executives Gar Forman and John Paxson, Butler insisted that it’s “good,” per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “They’re my bosses,” Butler said. “We talk like men if I have a problem [or] if they have a problem, we talk like we’re supposed to. I think it’s very professional.”
There’s a “growing sense among league insiders” that a Butler trade may be the best course of action for the Bulls’ future, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That’s not the same thing as the Bulls themselves sharing that view, but Kyler notes that Chicago sources admit the team is at something of a crossroads. As Kyler writes, the young players the Bulls anticipated would evolve into complementary players around Butler haven’t developed as the team hoped so far.
With this year’s trade deadline just over three weeks away, Mark Schanowski of CSNChicago.com takes a closer look at some of the Bulls’ trade options.
According to Hoiberg, rookie guard Denzel Valentine will remain in the D-League with the Windy City Bulls for the team’s next three games, and will be re-evaluated by the NBA club after that (link via Nick Friedell). Chicago’s D-League affiliate is in action this afternoon in Long Island.

Bulls Notes: Butler, Valentine, Gibson, Rondo

January 31st, 2017 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

There are some rival executives who think that the Bulls and Celtics will revisit trade talks involving Jimmy Butler in the coming weeks, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The two teams discussed Butler around the time of the 2016 draft, and as Johnson points out, Boston still holds the same assets that were a major part of those June talks: Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, and multiple first-round picks.

Johnson rightly notes that Butler has a chance to become eligible for a designated veteran extension in the summer of 2018, if he makes an All-NBA team next season. The possibility of qualifying for that mega-extension may sour Butler on the idea of a trade, since he wouldn’t be eligible for a designated veteran deal if he changes teams. Of course, the veteran swingman doesn’t have any sort of no-trade clause, so he couldn’t stop a deal if the Bulls wanted to move him.

Since those June trade talks, there has been little to no indication that Chicago intends to move its biggest star. However, as Johnson writes, it’s not out of the question that last week’s drama involving Butler, Dwyane Wade, and Rajon Rondo generates a new round of “internal debate” about the team’s long-term core.

As we wait to see whether Butler stays put through the trade deadline, let’s round up a few more Bulls notes…

The 14th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Denzel Valentine has endured an up-and-down rookie season so far. In his aforementioned piece for The Tribune, Johnson details how Valentine has responded to the injury issues, illnesses, and coaching decisions that have slowed him down in his first NBA season.
Bobby Portis is another young Bulls player who has seen his playing time fluctuate this season under Fred Hoiberg, but he got a chance to see some action on Sunday with Taj Gibson ailing, Johnson writes in a separate article for The Tribune. As for Gibson, he hopes to return to Chicago’s lineup on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City after receiving a cortisone shot on Sunday.
In the wake of Rondo’s Instagram post last week, in which he defended his younger teammates and criticized the actions of Butler and Wade, the veteran point guard has received praise from those younger teammates, according to Johnson. Nikola Mirotic and Jerian Grant are among the Bulls players that referred to Rondo as a great teammate.

Bulls Notes: Wade, Rondo, Forman, Paxson

January 27th, 2017 at 4:58pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Bulls are recovering from a PR crisis, after a very eventful week. Unhappy with critical comments made by Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo posted a now-infamous Instagram rant, in which he cited the team’s “leadership” as the source of blame for recent struggles. The team held a private meeting earlier today, but only time will tell how much longer the Wade-Butler-Rondo unit will remain intact.

Here’s the latest out of Chicago:

Wade gave a measured response to Rondo’s critiques, refusing to retaliate in similar fashion. “I could take that as a personal attack,” Wade told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “But what’s that going to do for me? Come in and fight Rajon because he said his vets practiced every day? I’m 35. I’m not practicing every day. That’s very clear. Everyone has their own things. My vets did different things too. They were very successful with what they did in Boston.” Johnson noted that even young players were allowed to speak their piece in the team meeting.
It made no sense for Chicago to bring in Wade and Rondo on a one-year experiment, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel writes. While the Bulls hold the eighth-seed in the Eastern Conference, the team’s chemistry looks to have reached its nadir.
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra shared his thoughts on the situation with Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “Welcome to the NBA. That’s around every team. What I see is a team that’s in the eight spot right now. They have a very talented team. They have two players generating over 60 percent of their offense, one of them we know very well. That guy’s [Wade] a killer. They have 19 all-star appearances on that team. They have something we would love to be in right now, that’s that eight spot.”
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg and team GM Gar Forman noted their disappointment in the conduct of Wade, Butler, and Rondo. “It’s unacceptable to air your grievances through the media,” Hoiberg told reporters. “We talked about that in the very first meeting of the year. If you have issues, sit behind closed doors and talk about it, and we move forward and we get better because of it.” In a limited statement, Forman claimed to have dealt with the situation internally. Interestingly, Wade refused to address a question regarding Hoiberg’s control over the locker room.
Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune wondered aloud how Forman and John Paxson can keep their jobs as the team disintegrates.

Central Notes: Ellis, Rondo, Pistons

January 27th, 2017 at 1:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Monta Ellis‘ role with the Pacers keeps declining, notes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The 31-year-old shooting guard has been replaced in the starting lineup by Glenn Robinson III and has struggled to contribute off the bench. Ellis is averaging just 8.3 points per game, the lowest since his rookie season, and shoots just 29% from 3-point range. He’s also taking a career-low 9.3 shots per 36 minutes and his free throw and assist rates have both fallen. Ellis is signed for $11.23MM next season and has an $11.7MM player option that Lowe expects him to exercise in 2018/19.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Rajon Rondo said he wasn’t trying to be the “bad guy” when he called out Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relays (Twitter links). “I have a great relationship with the young guys [on the Bulls] and they had some things to say,” Rondo said. “When people express feelings relationships get better.”
Coach Fred Hoiberg said there will be no suspensions for any of the Bulls players as a result of the verbal battle between Wade, Butler and Rondo, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com passes along (Twitter link). However, Hoiberg did say there will be fines handed out.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy says the idea of a 10-man rotation isn’t workable, even though the team is getting past its injury problems, relays Aaron McMann of MLive. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jon Leuer recently returned to the lineup, giving Detroit 10 players who have seen regular playing time this season. But Van Gundy says decision have to be made on what’s best for the team, not to make sure certain players get enough minutes. “I like having all of those guys available,” he said. “It certainly gives us more flexibility, but the idea it’s as simple as, ‘Play 10,’ or ‘Play nine’ … you start charting out the minutes guys should get, and it doesn’t work.”

Chris Crouse contributed to this post

Bulls Notes: Hoiberg, Rondo, Mirotic, Forman

January 27th, 2017 at 11:10am CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg will eventually have to pick a side in the ongoing verbal battle involving Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler, writes Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago. The team has seen verbal sniping this week, with Wade and Butler questioning the effort some of the players and Rondo responding on social media by saying his former Celtics teammates wouldn’t criticize players in the media. Goodwill states that Hoiberg faces a “defining moment” in trying to diffuse the situation.

There’s more today out of Chicago:

Nikola Mirotic and Michael Carter-Williams have been the main sources of frustration for Wade and Butler, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson adds that both addressed the players privately before speaking to the media. “I’m very expressive. I want good for these guys. I try to help these guys,” Wade said. “But there also comes a time [when] I can’t want it for you. It’s not every person on this team. But guys know who they are if they want to be real with themselves, if they’re doing enough.”
GM Gar Forman is expected to make a statement to the media at this afternoon’s shootaround, Johnson tweets. Rondo will also reportedly answer questions (Twitter link).
Waiving Rondo would be the easy way out for the Bulls, says Bobby Marks of The Vertical on a podcast with Chris Mannix. Marks suggests a team meeting where all the players can discuss their grievances and says Rondo shouldn’t be made a scapegoat for exposing the problems in the Bulls’ locker room. The former Nets executive also criticizes the Bulls’ roster, which he says is poorly formed outside of Butler and Wade.