Bulls' Butler not worried about his next contract

Jimmy Butler has been such a standout defender for the Bulls, it was easy to assume Thursday's game-winning 3-pointer was his first buzzer-beater, like, ever.

Not true, he insisted.

"No, not (the first) in my life," he said. "I was the man on other teams, now. Don't twist it. I was the man on a lot of teams."

By a lot of teams, he specifically meant Tyler Junior College and Tomball (Tex.) High School.

"On my juco teams and high school, I was real," he said with a smile. "I thought I was Michael Jordan in juco. Oh my gosh. I'm going to bring some film. You'll be like, 'What the heck was that?'"

Junior college basketball stats aren't easy to find, but there is record of Butler scoring 43 points in his final game for Tyler, a three overtime loss to Panola at the Kilgore regional. In three years at Marquette, Butler's peak was 15.7 points per game.

Now heading into his fourth season with the Bulls, Butler has been the star of preseason. He's averaging a team-best 18.6 points per game, while shooting 60 percent from the field. He leads the league in preseason free-throw attempts.

Maybe Thursday's performance should be taken with a grain of salt. The Bulls used three starters down the stretch, while Atlanta finished with mostly subs. Still, Butler scoring 20 points in the final 6:07 of the fourth quarter was impressive nonetheless.

"Jimmy, he's just a good player," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He's an all-around scorer. He'll find different ways to put the ball in the basket."

Although the Bulls trailed by 21 points early in the fourth, Butler tied the score by hitting 3 free throws with 14.1 seconds left. After Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder scored on a driving layup with 1.5 seconds on the clock, Butler caught an inbounds pass and drained the game-winning 3-pointer.

"Jimmy making a tough shot, that's the way we drew up," Thibodeau joked.

One subplot to preseason is Butler's contract negotiations. The Bulls have until Oct. 31 to come to an agreement on an extension or else Butler will become a restricted free agent next summer.

Butler's stellar performance has probably made an extension less likely. Just consider both points of view: The Bulls don't want to base a long-term contract on five preseason games, and Butler's camp won't want to settle for small numbers if his career is about to blow up.

Another factor for the Bulls is they don't face much risk by waiting. They can match any offer sheet next summer, and if a team came through with a maximum offer, it would start at around $15 million. Considering the NBA salary cap will be going up soon, the Bulls figure to match anything for Butler. The Bulls cap isn't as challenging because didn't keep Luol Deng, and Pau Gasol is on a short-term deal

A maximum-offer scenario isn't far-fetched if Butler's offense carries into the regular season. Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons both got new deals this summer worth just above $15 million per year, and neither player earned second-team all-defense honors last season.

What would it take to sign Butler to an extension now? This is just a guess, but it's difficult to imagine his camp taking any less than $12 million per season, and even that might be a low estimate.

Butler has consistently pushed aside questions about his contract and whether it weighs on his mind.

"I don't think about it. I just try to play the game the right way," Butler said Thursday. "The whole contract situation is up to my agent and the Bulls' organization. I just play basketball. I just want to win games. The contract will take care of itself."

Thibodeau said he doesn't get involved in trying to determine what a player is worth. Of course, he played Butler 38.7 minutes per game last season, which speaks for itself.

"That's Gar (Forman), John (Paxson), Jerry (Reinsdorf). I handle the part down here," Thibodeau said after Friday's practice. "Jimmy understands how we feel about him. Or at least I think he does."

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