2weekswithpay wrote:sco wrote:I'm not sure I get the whole $50M contract debate, but I will note that guys like Jimmy, Tatum and Brown are so valuable in the playoffs because they are good 2-way players, and it's really only in the playoffs that defense starts to matter a lot, IMO.
I look at our roster and if somehow we could take the assets/cap space from Zach and Vuc deals and turn them into a true #1 option, we COULD have enough pieces in Giddey, Ball, Coby, Ayo, Matas, Pat, Smith to have a legit playoff team, and IF we luck into Matas becoming a legit #2 option, perhaps a contending team. Honestly, I'd like to see (this season) what happens if/when Smith/Ball/Matas give bigger roles.
Butler wants a two year supermax from Miami. The Heat understandably don't want to pay him that when he's 35. The 50M is an arbitrary minimum that the Bulls would have to offer Butler for him to pick up the phone. What Butler actually wants is a two-year 113M extension.
If the Bulls dump Vuc for expiring contracts and don't re-sign Lonzo, the best they could offer Butler is around 41M. The clear up the extra 8-10M they'd have to decline Terry's option and probably dump Carter.
Is it worth it to go through all the work to clear up cap space to sign a 36 year old Buter?
Not sure how you're calculating that $41M max. I'm looking at about $104 mill for Zach, Pat, Coby, Ayo, Carter, Matas, Terry, Phillips next year. Get rid of Carter, even if it cost us a second, clear another 7 mill, takes us to $97 mill. Cap projected to be $154.6. This also presumes neither Coby or Pat is traded this summer. Regardless of whether we're pursing Butler, it's a distinct possibility one of the two is gone. Also presumes we're not sending any players to Miami in a sign and trade. Giddey's cap hold limits us at the start of FA, but that only exist until he's signed and/or traded. The Bulls could make Butler a pretty competitive offer without gutting the roster or doing much more than they're trying to do anyway. Jimmy also seems like a guy who gets pissed when he's not given what he asked for, and will leave. He did the exact same thing to the T-Wolves, he left because he wanted more money early and acted out hard. And I'm not saying to get him at any price, lol.
As for why Butler, like I said, it's more than Butler the player I'd want. Age isn't going to make him less of a leader or less aggressive defensively. He's still going to be a dog at 36. That money's going to be spent somewhere. If you think Brandon Ingram or MPJ help the Bulls more over the next three years, go for them. Keep bringing up Butler's age, but he's actually played more games the last few years to most of the alternatives. He stays in better condition than a lot of younger players.
Offer alternatives. Say we have $50 mill cap space this summer, how do we spend it better? What FA's do we go after? Estimated cost? Butler's not just a good player, he elevates the whole defense. So I need that plus 20, 5, and 5 and proven leader. Leadership and competitiveness have value too. I'd be much more comfortable with Butler as my best player than Ingram or MPJ if I'm focused on winning.
