Butler's future shouldn't be cloudy, but it is
There was no reason for the Chicago Bulls management team of John Paxson and Gar Forman to supply perfect clarity to Jimmy Butler's future.
A simple, "We appreciate Jimmy, but will consider all options to improve the team," would have been appropriate. Or maybe, "We expect him to be a big part of our team …"
What was said was a little odd. Paxson praised the three-time all-star but left room in his answers for uncertainty. Here's an example:
"We told Jimmy in our exit meeting that look, oftentimes when the season ends, your emotions are high, they're raw, and you want to just decompress a little bit and let him decompress," Paxson said Wednesday.
"We're going to sit down with Jimmy again. It's going to happen. We're going to talk to him and we're going to define to him, with him our thoughts, those types of things. That's not for today. But we respect Jimmy; we respect his opinion."
Emotions high? Does that mean the exit chat was contentious? A little later, Paxson shared another thought about communicating with Butler.
"We can say anything to him; he can say anything to us," Paxson said. "We'll be honest with him. Look, that's the responsibility for us to do. He's our best player. Ultimately, Gar and I are always going to continue to do what we think we have to do."
What that means is unclear, but the facts should clarify Butler's future with the team.
Butler, 27, is a three-time all-star and one of the best two-way players in the league. He just posted career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and free-throw attempts. He's the type of player you need to win in the NBA.
At the same time, Paxson expressed a reluctance to embark on a ground-up rebuild, correctly pointing out how teams that bottom out usually face a long, frustrating climb back to the playoffs. There also are examples of teams moving from a .500 record to strong contender, such as Houston and Boston.
Take Butler off this team and the Bulls might struggle to win 25 games. Without Butler, Dwyane Wade probably doesn't return for a second hometown season. Without Butler or Wade, the Bulls wouldn't have a prayer of attracting a top free agent.
While people have been eyeing a Butler-to-Boston trade, there's no guarantee the Celtics would give up this year's No. 1 draft pick if they win Brooklyn's slot in the lottery.
Would the overall No. 1 pick make the Bulls a better team? Unless Markelle Fultz is the next LeBron, that's doubtful.
"The thing with Jimmy is all of us would love to go out and get another a superstar player to go along with him, but right now the situation we're in with the salaries we have, that type of thing, that's a difficult thing for us to manage," Paxson said.
The best guess at the Bulls' philosophy here is they appreciate Butler, need him back, but aren't going to hang up on any teams willing to make their best offer.