Anyone trust Jimmy Butler to take the next step?

[Bandit King]

Right now he's a borderline star. Do you think his numbers will soar with D. Rose gone? Will he take the jump to 25 points a game? Will the bulls make him the marquee star? Will his ego soar to unimaginable levels?


What numbers you predict for Butler this year? Do you think the Bulls will keep him for the 2017 plan?

Jimmy's production might actually go down with teams double teaming him and the lack of stars on this team.

[hellenicbull]

I think he will beast next year, and yes he will average 25 points per game.

[RedBulls23]

Jimmy isn't a borderline all-star. He's a legit all-star considering he has made the last two all-star teams.

Also, yes I expect to see Jimmy's numbers to go up this year now that he isn't playing with another volume scoring guard and that he will be a 1st option. It will be interesting though to see if he can keep his efficiency up as well. I think he can considering his ability to get to the FT line. His assists will likely go down now that he's playing with Rondo, but his rebounding could go up now that he will likely have to be more aggressive on the boards with no strong rebounding big up front.

I guess we'll see how it works out.

[bullslas]

I'm interested in seeing how is efficiency will be with more shots per game. My problem with Jimmy has always been that if he doesn't have a good shot, he passes it off to someone else with very little time on the shot clock. Hopefully Rondo sets him up more for easier shots to compensate for some of the extra shots he will need to take. The more I think of it, Rondo will make Butler a very happy player.

[MC3]

I'm interested in seeing how is efficiency will be with more shots per game. My problem with Jimmy has always been that if he doesn't have a good shot, he passes it off to someone else with very little time on the shot clock. Hopefully Rondo sets him up more for easier shots to compensate for some of the extra shots he will need to take. The more I think of it, Rondo will make Butler a very happy player.

butler is very efficient cause understands what are good and what are bad shots. He will likely pass than shoot a bad shot. Meaning protecting his stats in same time. This was on going discussion two years now. But there is no Derrick to blame anymore. This is his team now. I am pretty sure he will find himself under pressure to shoot some of them and find himself in position where he will throw many airballs. And giving Rondo on backcourt who doesnt have interest in taking shots and bailing him out Jimmy will find himself pretty alone unless Doug become The One and Mirotic The Second One.

[coldfish]

Believe it or not, Jimmy Butler was actually 3rd in usage on the team last year behind Pau and Rose. At a 24.4% usage rate, he really wasn't seeing the ball nearly as much as his detractors want you to believe.

That's going to change this year. League leaders in usage% are often in the 30-35% range. I suspect that Butler will be among them.

I virtually guarantee that his raw points / assist numbers go through the roof. I would not be surprised to see a 25 6 and 6 season.

The question is really is if that will come with markedly reduced efficiency and lots of turnovers.

Skill wise, I don't see much change but if you look at his history, his 3p% is all over the map. With Rondo playing PG, Jimmy might have one of his good shooting years.

.....

I have no thought that his numbers will go down. Teams were regularly cheating off Rose when he didn't have the ball and it will likely be the same with Rondo. With how stagnant the offense was last year and how much time the Bulls gave defenses to set up, I don't see how Jimmy could actually face MORE defensive pressure when he has the ball.

[PaKii94]

I'm team Jimmy all the way. Man works his ass off day in and out. I think all his outbursts were valid last year. The team was soft and pathetic and severely underachieved.

I think this board also severely underrates his game because he doesnt have flashy handles or a great 3pt jumpshot. Every championship caliber team needs a player like him to make it to the top yet we just want to give him away for "potential". Look at the FMVPs for the past couple of years

I have no doubt he has added yet another element to his game...

[ADDinChicago]

He took that "next step" to get a max deal. I think he's peaked.

[musiqsoulchild]

Jimmy is going to get better. His 3 point shot and his defense are going to get even better.

And his durability - now that we have a full complement of players. Just need 1 more WING player.

[PaKii94]

He took that "next step" to get a max deal. I think he's peaked.

And yet he improved his game last year after getting that max

[Ferulci]

Will he take the jump to 25 points a game? Will the bulls make him the marquee star? Will his ego soar to unimaginable levels?


What numbers you predict for Butler this year? Do you think the Bulls will keep him for the 2017 plan?

Basically yes to all of this but this isnt saying much. He will increase his usage and I would be shocked if he doesnt score 23+ points a game. And since he's our only star on the roster, yes we better keep him for the 2017 plan.
The question mark will be the efficiency and how it translates into wins.
If the next step is to be a lower-end superstar (like say Paul George) I think he could get there with his work ethic and if he gets the right environment.
If the next step is to be a Top6/7 superstar that can be the first option on a title team, I dont think he can reach that level.

[MC3]

Re: Anyone trust Jimmy Butler to take the next step?

I dont. Nope. Just cause his usage is going up doesnt mean he will take next step.

[Krazy!!!]

Jimmy isn't a borderline all-star. He's a legit all-star considering he has made the last two all-star teams.

Also, yes I expect to see Jimmy's numbers to go up this year now that he isn't playing with another volume scoring guard and that he will be a 1st option. It will be interesting though to see if he can keep his efficiency up as well. I think he can considering his ability to get to the FT line. His assists will likely go down now that he's playing with Rondo, but his rebounding could go up now that he will likely have to be more aggressive on the boards with no strong rebounding big up front.

I guess we'll see how it works out.

I think he means super star.

[ChettheJet]

I don't see him getting to 26PPG. What I am optimistic of is he takes control of the team and gets 21PPG, 6 boards and 6 assists, rallies others not to play lock down defense all game long but when the game is on the line and they need a stop he makes them step up and get it.

[Ice Man]

I don't see him getting to 26PPG. What I am optimistic of is he takes control of the team and gets 21PPG, 6 boards and 6 assists, rallies others not to play lock down defense all game long but when the game is on the line and they need a stop he makes them step up and get it.

In other words, the same player as last year, but a bit better. Sounds about right to me.

[TheSuzerain]

It would be shocking if he scored only 21 ppg.

I'm with Fish on this one. He'll put up some gaudy stats merely from the scaled up usage. If he has a strong shooting year from 3, look out.

[kodo]

He doesn't have to actually get any better to see an improvement, because he'll simply be getting the ball more.

Butler has been the best player on the team for the last 2 years and his usage rate has barely been higher than Aaron Brooks. The ball, even this year, has been dominated by Rose when he plays.

I don't think Butler will use those extra possessions to just chuck more shots, he'll probably be passing more with his new identity as a playmaking 2 guard. Those end of season games were Jimmy & Hoiberg trying a test drive of how Butler might be used next season.

vs Philly, 10 points 10 assists 12 rebounds in 25 min
vs Pels, 23 points 11 assists 3 rebounds in 29 min
vs Pistons, 28 points 12 assists 17 rebounds in 39 min

With Rose gone, and if the Bulls play at a faster pace, Butler could be averaging 22-24 ppg, 6-7 apg, 5 rpg.
Jimmy now at only 24% usage is averaging 21 ppg 4.8 apg 5.3 rpg. It's only 1 more basket and 2 more assists per game.

If he managed that, he'd be matching Wade's career average #s (23.8 ppg 5.8 apg 4.9 rpg).

[Stratmaster]

We do not want Jimmy Butler scoring 25 ppg. If he does, that means everything else the Bulls are trying to accomplish (pace offense, McD and Niko emerging...and possibly Valentine taking on a scoring role) failed and they had to rely on and resort to a lot of Jimmy ISO.

That doesn't answer the question, I know. I think Jimmy has proven he can do whatever he sets out to do on the court. To me his next step is becoming a positive team, locker room, and player spokesperson influence.

[Shill]

I think he is what he is. His raw numbers will likely go up, but I don't really expect his impact to increase significantly.

[FriedRise]

I posted this in another thread, but with Rose and Pau gone there is now about 30 FGA per game freed up. Considering none of Calderon, Grant, or Lopez are volume scorers, Butler's PPG numbers will (should?) go up based on sheer volume alone.

My guess is Butler will take about 20 FGA per game (+5), with the rest divied up among McDermott, Niko, Rondo, and Valentine. My prediction is 25/6/6 which I'd consider a next step from last season.

Of course it's very hard to predict since our team looks so different compared to last season. With Butler being the only #1 scoring option on the team, teams now can afford to double-team him since they no longer have to worry about Rose or Pau. If Doug and Niko can prove that they can make them pay (and for Butler to make the right play when he draws a double, essentially playing the LeBron role), 25/6/6 would be a real possibility.

Those are superstar numbers.