How Much Can the Bulls Pay Jimmy Butler?

[TimRobbins]

They can't offer the 5 year max, Derrick Rose is our 5 year max player.

Derrick Rose is the super-max guy (30% of cap), but I believe we can offer anybody a regular 5-year max (25% of cap). Am I wrong?

[OldSchoolNoBull]

They can't offer the 5 year max, Derrick Rose is our 5 year max player.

Derrick Rose is the super-max guy (30% of cap), but I believe we can offer anybody a regular 5-year max (25% of cap). Am I wrong?

I believe you can only give one player a five-year extension of their rookie scale contract, but if it's just a new contract and not an extension, as Jimmy's will be this summer, we can offer as may five year deals as we'd like, I believe.

[vxmike]

If the Bulls have any sense, they would offer a 5-year max on day one. As you mentioned, once the cap goes up, Jimmy's contract will become a huge asset. Otherwise, they could face a Parsons situation where some team offers Jimmy a 3 year max deal with a player option and a trade kicker, which would make his contract a lot less valuable.

As already pointed out the Bulls can't sign Jimmy to a 5 year deal unless they trade Rose.

I agree they need to offer a 4 year max up front or else risk having to match a shorter deal and then having to re-sign him sooner under a $90M cap.

[OldSchoolNoBull]

If the Bulls have any sense, they would offer a 5-year max on day one. As you mentioned, once the cap goes up, Jimmy's contract will become a huge asset. Otherwise, they could face a Parsons situation where some team offers Jimmy a 3 year max deal with a player option and a trade kicker, which would make his contract a lot less valuable.

As already pointed out the Bulls can't sign Jimmy to a 5 year deal unless they trade Rose.

I agree they need to offer a 4 year max up front or else risk having to match a shorter deal and then having to re-sign him sooner under a $90M cap.

I'm not sure this is true. I think the rule about only one rookie signing a five year deal is about extensions. We couldn't sign another player to a five year extension of a rookie contract. But Jimmy won't be signing an extension this summer, it will be a brand new contract.

[dougthonus]

The only rule for five years is that you use the Larry Bird exception which is what the Bulls would sign Jimmy with.

The Rose rule is to get 30% of the max and doesn't prevent someone else from getting a five year deal. Jimmy doesn't qualify for the Rose rule even if the Bulls hadn't used it on Rose.

[dougthonus]

I'm not sure this is true. I think the rule about only one rookie signing a five year deal is about extensions. We couldn't sign another player to a five year extension of a rookie contract. But Jimmy won't be signing an extension this summer, it will be a brand new contract.

With extensions the total years under contract can never exceed five, so you can never sign more than a four year extension (since the current contract year has to be one of the years).