Jimmy Butler

chikstrycharz

Jimmy Butler used to tell us all the time, a bit of the down home corn pone that you kind of knew was a mask for the bursting confidence and relentless striving that enabled him to rise from the most unlikely of environments to star in the NBA.

“I never was going to make a million dollars back then,” Butler would say. “I wasn’t going to be a big time NBA player, an All-Star. You never could tell me I’d be in this position.”

But he was, and he earned his way there, a three-time NBA All-Star, gold medal winner with USA Basketball in the 2016 Olympics, perennial all-defensive team player, owner of some of the highest scoring games in Bulls franchise history, friend to Hollywood stars like Mark Wahlberg, late night TV show guest, commercial endorser, celebrity, multimillionaire.

Jimmy had to pinch himself. And he probably said ouch Thursday night—or early Friday morning--vacationing in Paris when he found out he’d been traded by the Bulls to former coach Tom Thibodeau and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Butler had no comment, though he’d apparently been hoping to remain with the Bulls amidst rumors of a trade, perhaps even to the 2016 champion Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Bulls could no longer see a way forward even with Butler, and Butler had become so valuable that the only way the team believed it could start again with a new foundation was to sacrifice Butler.

It thus was a bittersweet parting for Butler, whose climb out of the disarray of the suburbs of Houston—Tomball, not Houston, Butler always corrected—was one of the great American sports stories. Heck, really the American dream when such things really did seem achievable.

Butler's story is well known of a good but uncertain kid, run out of his home at 13, getting by thanks to the kindness of strangers, bunking in with friends until finding a reliable space. Moving on to community college where he just played ball. Getting some notice and filling out the application to Marquette at a fast food restaurant, not even sure where it was, certainly not that it was that cold.

Jimmy was just a role player at Marquette, never leading the team in scoring, a smaller college and a kid in a smaller role, just trying to find a bigger life. Not a fortune. Trying just to find himself. But his decency transcended even his ambition.

I tracked down Jimmy’s counselor at Marquette earlier this year and this is what she old me.

Butler was just the 30th and last pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft, hardly a position of prominence or expectation.

He rarely played his rookie season, often literally begging coach Tom Thibodeau to put him in games. It was to no avail. So Jimmy just worked. He carved that slim, 6-7 body into a powerful machine, and then when Luol Deng got hurt midway through the 2012-13 season, Jimmy got his chance.

He attacked it like he did everything else, straight on without the least doubt and again against the odds and surprising everyone.

By playoff time not only was he starting, a rugged defender learning to become an offensive threat, but he played all 48 minutes in three straight playoff games and five of the 12 in the Bulls surprising run the season after Derrick Rose was hurt. Jimmy, like many times before, went from unnoticed to essential.

“I've never been highly recruited,” he explained. “So I've always had the chips stacked against me and I've found a way to make things happen.”

Butler began to break out in the 2013-14 season, averaging 13.1 points. By the next season, he was selected to the All-Star team, averaging 20 points for the season, even raising his three-point shooting from 28 percent to 38 percent. It was work for Jimmy. His trainer became his best friend. He was determined never to go back. Or backward.

“I always say only your opinion is the one that matters,” Butler told me once. “If you think you are going to do it, that’s the only one that matters. If you start listening to other people, their doubts, and you start to doubt, that can throw those mixed signals in the pot. Because then when you reach in what you get is someone else’s, not yours.”

Butler likes to use some of the old metaphors from his college coach, Buzz Williams, to explain his life.

“Make sure all your dreams are in your pot so when you reach in there now and you pull something out it’s, ‘Hey I’m happy,’ Because that’s all you,” Butler explained. “The dream you pull out of there is your dream; it’s nobody else’s. This is my life. Take the good and the bad.”

It’s been a remarkable run of good for Butler, his star rising in the NBA fast and bright.

First came that Most Improved Player designation after the 2014-15 season and then the continued breakthroughs, averaging 20.9 points in 2015-16 with some of the most amazing games in franchise history. There was 53 points against the 76ers, a 40-point second half against Toronto to beat Michal Jordan’s record for a half, 21 points in a first quarter against Oklahoma City, a run of 44 games with at least one steal, a pair of triple doubles and then the Olympics.

And back to the Bulls last season to become a starter in the All-Star game, averaging a career high 23.9 per game along with 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists, one of the league’s most versatile players, regarded as one of the elite two-way players in the game. Three times conference player of the week, a pair of triple doubles, scoring at least 20 points in 15 straight games, the longest streak since Jordan had it 20 years before.

And it wasn’t just basketball. Jimmy’s work in the Chicago community earned him finalist honors for the 2017 NBA Kennedy award for citizenship. He’s been a regular his six years in Chicago delivering pizzas to the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago or mentoring kids with Maggie Daley’s After School Matters. Jimmy walks the red carpet and the streets. Tomball and the NBA share space.

“Everybody has their own story, their own journey to get where they are going or where they already are,” Butler told me. “You are going to have those hiccups, those obstacles. But you can’t let those break you. You have to hit those, do whatever you have to do, get through it and move on.

No one predicted it, but no one should have doubted. Jimmy moves on again, and he won’t be soon forgotten.

moving-in-a-new-direction-the-bulls-say-goodbye-to-jimmy-butler

Moving In A New Direction, The Bulls Say Goodbye To Jimmy Butler

Sam Smith

Here they come in the NBA spinning out of the turn into the homestretch of the regular season. And look who’s coming up on the outside, the Bulls and Jimmy Butler.

Just as the Bulls, having won four straight games, are in New York Tuesday to play the Knicks, the league office in New York Monday announced its Player of the Week honor for Butler.

It is the third time this season Butler has been named NBA Player of the Week. It previously was Nov. 21 and Jan. 9.

And as the Bulls make their own unlikely playoff run, Butler is starting to appear over the shoulder of the MVP leaders like Russell Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said after the Sunday win in New Orleans that Butler should be in the MVP conversation. “The MVP is what your team is (with and) without him and obviously look at our numbers. When Jimmy is on the floor, we’re really good and he makes other guys better. That’s the thing this year. When you put the ball in his hands as much as we have, not only to create for himself but he’s making the right plays to get the ball to other guys and setting them up for easy shots. Whether it’s Robin (Lopez) at the rim, whether it’s Denzel (Valentine) in the corner. He’s making good simple plays and continues to grow his game. His durability is something you marvel at.”

Said Butler: “I’m dialed in. I think I’m rolling.”

It’s no coincidence the Bulls are rolling, too, six wins in the last eight games as well. The Bulls, 38-39, with five games left, all against teams with losing records, are in sole possession of seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They are a game ahead of both Miami and Indiana. Plus, the Bulls own the important tiebreaker by virtue of head to head games.

So, in effect, the Bulls hold a two-game lead over each because a season record tie would go to the Bulls.

That makes it a magic number of four Bulls wins or Indiana and Miami losses for the playoffs. The Bulls finish with the Knicks, 76ers, Brooklyn twice and New Orleans.

The Bulls also could move up in the standings, though it seems less likely. The Hawks in sixth are one game ahead of the Bulls, but Atlanta has the tiebreaker. Milwaukee is two ahead with the tiebreaker. Suddenly, there’s also first round matchups to consider, though the Bulls are in solid one-game-at-a-time, only-worried-about-us mode.

Boston is in first by a half game over Cleveland. Cleveland has played one fewer game. The Cavs have the tiebreaker. Toronto is a game ahead of the Wizards for third in the Eastern Conference. Of course, the Bulls were recently blown out at home by the 76ers and have a losing record against the Knicks. Though that was when Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were playing. Noah is suspended for a substance violation and Rose will have knee surgery for another meniscus tear. Carmelo Anthony has been out with back problems. The Bulls also play Orlando next week and lost badly to them last month.

But that was Jimmy then, Butler coming out of All-Star break without the spirit and physical dominance he displayed in being voted a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

But with Dwyane Wade’s season ending elbow injury against Memphis March 15, Butler has emerged again as one of the top players in the NBA.

Like the Bulls being too late to make a run at the top four teams in the conference, it’s probably too late for Butler to make a serious MVP run. The MVP voting order is expected to be Harden and Westbrook one/two in some order, and then Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James in some order and then for the fifth spot likely Isaiah Thomas or John Wall. But Butler could nose his way into that debate the way he’s played lately.

The NBA week starts on Monday, so the NBA credited Butler with a team 3-0 week, Butler averaging 32.5 points and six assists in the wins over the Cavaliers, Hawks and Pelicans. The Bulls current streak extends to four with a win over Milwaukee the Sunday before the Cavs game. In those four games, Butler is averaging 29.3 points, eight assists and 5.8 rebounds. Plus, he’s seven of eight on three pointers in that stretch.

Butler, obviously, is having a career year. He is averaging a career high 23.9 points along with 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists. The rebound and assist averages are second on the team. He’s also averaging career highs in steals, free throw shooting and free throw attempts.

But it’s his play since Wade’s injury that has resurrected the Bulls.

The Bulls are 6-3 in Wade’s absence and playing seemingly their best ball of the season and averaging almost 109 points per game.

In those nine games, Butler is averaging 28.6 points, 8.1 assists and six rebounds. Plus, he’s a stunning 12 of 20 on threes for 60 percent along with almost 10 free throw attempts per game. He’s also putting in overtime, averaging 39.4 minutes per game with three games more than 40 minutes.

Yet, even as Butler was facing a back to back games starting Saturday against Atlanta, he declined Hoiberg’s request to come out of the game. He played the entire second half and had the Bulls last nine points and the winning free throws in the two-point victory.

After that win over the Hawks, who had defeated the Bulls seven straight. Hoiberg said of Butler: “He’s making the right plays, making simple plays. When the double team came, he made the right kick to the backside. He just found a way to get to the basket, 10 free throws, made them all. Obviously it was a huge part of the win.”

The 6-7 forward in his sixth season has been a huge part of everything that has been going right for the Bulls lately, defending the opponent’s best player, which included a suffocating job on James Thursday when James had just seven points after halftime.

“I see guys doing what they are supposed to be doing out there, playing hard,” said Butler after the Atlanta win. “Shooting the ball when they are open, not trying to do too much. That’s what we need, everybody confident in their game in these last how many we have. Moving forward we want everyone doing what they are supposed to be doing. Home and away we want to win.”

Butler is helping assure that as the Bulls near the finish line.

jimmy-butler-wins-third-eastern-conference-player-of-the-week-award

Jimmy Butler wins Third Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award

The Bulls and Jimmy Butler can’t wait to get to Friday, and not just for a chance at revenge against the Phoenix Suns, who less than two weeks ago ran out and ran away from a staggering Bulls team near the end of what would be a 2-4 Western Conference road trip. The Bulls recovered with two narrow wins going into the All-Star break, and now wait out the Thursday NBA trade deadline and their future.

The Bulls are 28-29 heading into this sprint to the finish line and hopefully the playoffs, a dash of sorts to destiny for the team.

There’s been much uncertainty this season with trade rumors, team meetings, flexible rotations and questions about the future. That likely will become more focused over these next 25 games.

“I am optimistic,” said Butler, who left for a short vacation following the All-Star game in New Orleans Sunday. “We have a good enough team; now we just have to go out there and show everybody. String together (effort and enthusiasm) every single night; we do it in practice.

It’s likely with the inconsistency plaguing the team much of this season that the team’s direction could be determined in a big way over this stretch. Make the playoffs and make some noise, and perhaps minds and ideas crystalize on moving forward. Perhaps that happens this week, though it seems quiet for now. With the Bulls seventh in the Eastern Conference and a game behind sixth place Indiana and with a 6-1 record against the Cavaliers, Raptors and Celtics, the Bulls are one of those teams you don’t want to necessarily face in the first round.

They have an All-Star starter in Butler, and championship veterans in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. They have veteran interior strength with Robin Lopez and Taj Gibson to make up a duo that’s put the Bulls among the league leaders in rebounding all season. Their half court, three-point shooting deficient game could prove more provocative in the playoffs.

Still, there are questions that should be answered these last 25 games:

--- What will the Bulls see from Wade? The veteran has began to miss more games, lately though with illness, seven this calendar year. He’s on pace now to play fewer than 70 games after playing 74 last season, though he still is averaging about the same 19 points. Last season, Wade built up toward the playoffs and rolled back the clock with brilliant playoff play that nearly carried Miami to the conference finals. Is it still in him?

--- Is Rondo a buyout possibility? It seemed so months ago, but he doesn’t exactly fit the profile of the scoring guard off the bench for a playoff team, and he’s proven valuable for the Bulls reserves. He’s become a top team mentor for the young players and still a player who’ll push the ball. It seems he could be valuable in a playoff series.

--- What happens at power forward? Bobby Portis moved in for Nikola Mirotic before the break with Mirotic having back problems. Portis averaged almost 14 points per game the last three and shot well. He showed three-point range and with his hustle on defense he could move ahead of Mirotic. It seems Cristiano Felicio has solidified his place behind Lopez.

--- Can Doug McDermott bring the road back home? The mercurial shooting forward who could be the late season X-factor with his shooting had a strong close to the run up to the break, averaging about 15 points the last four games and shooting 40 percent on threes. He’s still the team’s best three-point shooter, and he’ll need a big finish to solidify his place. February has been his best scoring and shooting month thus far this season.

--- Jerian Grant, Michael Carter-Williams or Denzel Valentine at point guard? Coach Fred Hoiberg relied on Grant most before the break as a player who can shoot threes to play off Butler and eventually Wade, who tend to control the ball and play more in the mid range. Grant improved his three-point shooting to 44 percent in February with four double figuring scoring games. Valentine has that potential, but seems to be a place behind Grant, playing just five minutes in the win over Boston.  Carter-Williams has had offensive highlights, but doesn’t balance Wade and Butler as well at times. He had back to back 20-plus scoring games and then three points and four points, though eight minutes in the latter. He’s only shot 18 percent on threes this month and 21 percent for the season. It seems likely that spot along with Rondo’s play remains a shifting situation based on matchups and who might be going well. No one has truly pulled away from the others.

As currently comprised, the Bulls, who play in Cleveland Saturday on the national ABC-TV game, still have it at their disposal to make something of this season.

And, fair or not, much still falls on Butler, the team’s dominant figure on offense and defense. He says despite what anyone may think, he’s ready to bolt out of the All-Star starting blocks to the finish line.

“I need rest,” he said before leaving New Orleans. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to get any.”

Which Butler says is fine with him. He’s ready. He likes comparisons to Clark Kent, the mild mannered Superman alter ego, whom Butler says he mirrors off the court. The cape is for the game.

“Like Clark Kent,” Butler said with a laugh. “He never sleeps. I watched Smallville. He’s always up.

“Nothing surprises me,” said Butler, “but would I be in disbelief, yeah (about where the team is the way we it started the season combined with the season he is having). It’s here, it’s happening right now, so we have to figure out a way to turn it around to where we can (make a run). What do I have to do better?

“I can always do more,” said Butler. “Always remind people what to do out there, how to guard a guy; not a statistic but that’s part of what I can do. Everybody doing what they are supposed to be doing, whatever is asked to help us win games. You may not like that sometimes. That’s the part of the game you have to have. Coach always says the role players are going to be the ones that really win it; that’s fact."

It’s time to act on everything that’s been repeated for four months.

after-a-short-break-butler-is-ready-to-race-to-the-finish

After a short break, Butler is ready to race to the finish

none

Presented By

AT&T

<a title="Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now" href="https://www.nba.com/bulls/postseason">Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now!</a>