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Jimmy Butler rejected the Chicago Bulls' final contract extension offer on Friday and will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2015.

“It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself,” Butler told Yahoo Sports in a text message on Friday. “It was about me believing that I put the work in this summer to become a better player with the hope that my improvement will give the Bulls a better chance to win a championship.”

The Bulls would have the option to match any offer sheet Butler were to sign on the open market, but it could threaten their payroll structure or allow him to become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.

 

“All the [rookie extension] deals done so far have shown that teams are building around their stars of the future, and they’re compensating those players as such,” agent Happy Walters told Yahoo Sports on Friday. “I was under the impression Jimmy was also viewed as one of those future building blocks with the Bulls.

“We tried like heck to get something done, but ultimately, the Bulls wanted a ‘hometown’ discount. While understandable, I doubt their GM or coaches give Mr. Reinsdorf a discount when negotiating their own deals.”

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

The Bulls cheap GM comes through again.

This is the same guy who hesitated to give Thibs a lucrative contract extension and let good bench players who helped them like Nate Robinson, Marco Belenelli, and Kyle Korver all go.

That's without mentioning the whole Luol Deng fiasco.

Jimmy needs to realize he is not "all that". He shot less than 40% last year including 28% from three point range.

As a general rule my "stars of the future" aren't averaging 13.1pts on .397 shooting.

He really think he is a star? He may play like a star in some games, but he is far from a marketable player.

NBA players now a days think they are worth more than what they are offered. I expect Butler to still stay with the Bulls even if he has a great season.

If players like burks gets money jimmy is like why cant he get the same in other markets like LA and such instead of Bulls who are a "cheap" organization

Jimmy butler now feels why Melo rejected Bulls offer.

imDatknicksTape wrote:Jimmy butler now feels why Melo rejected Bulls offer.

Nah, the real reason Melo rejected the offer is because his agent misled him. Bulls offered him basically the same deal LeBron took in Cleveland, 2 years with an opt out, so that when the cap goes up, he can get an even bigger pay-day. His agent advised him to take the big money now, rather than risk not being a max player in 2 years.

SF88 wrote:The Bulls cheap GM comes through again.

This is the same guy who hesitated to give Thibs a lucrative contract extension and let good bench players who helped them like Nate Robinson, Marco Belenelli, and Kyle Korver all go.

That's without mentioning the whole Luol Deng fiasco.

So much fail here.

Bulls offered Jimmy in the range of 4yrs $40-$44 mil. He declined. Not a bad offer.

Nate Robinson was on a vet min contract. Wanted to stay for the same money, but more years. Bulls made the decision to keep Kirk over him, because a healthy Rose means Nate ain't playing much.

Belinelli was leaving, and got the same exact type of money with the Spurs, which seemed to be the right move. The Korver one was supposed to be used to so the Bulls could use the trade exception to upgrade the team. Rose wasn't going to be playing, so they looked to move Korver, instead of wasting the money on a throwaway year. Bulls a didn't find the right deal, so the TPE expired. Bad decision.

The Deng one wasn't a bad decision. They weren't going to resign him, because they were making cap room for this past summer. They moved him, and got the best deal they could without taking on future salary. There's no argument to be made against that. 100% the right move, and that's coming from one of Deng's biggest fans.

SF88 wrote:The Bulls cheap GM comes through again.

This is the same guy who hesitated to give Thibs a lucrative contract extension and let good bench players who helped them like Nate Robinson, Marco Belenelli, and Kyle Korver all go.

That's without mentioning the whole Luol Deng fiasco.

It's not so much about the GM being cheap but quality players who deserve the real type of money they earn. Those players you listed didn't deserve more than you think they are worth. They have many weaknesses or cons in their game hence why they somewhat struggle after leaving the Bulls. Butler needs to prove that he deserves more after this season. If he does prove that and the Bulls' GM doesn't come through and put more money on the table then I take back this statement but for now no. He needs to knock those shots down on a consistent basis to qualify for more money if you ask me.

Ring_Me wrote:

SF88 wrote:The Bulls cheap GM comes through again.

This is the same guy who hesitated to give Thibs a lucrative contract extension and let good bench players who helped them like Nate Robinson, Marco Belenelli, and Kyle Korver all go.

That's without mentioning the whole Luol Deng fiasco.

It's not so much about the GM being cheap but quality players who deserve the real type of money they earn. Those players you listed didn't deserve more than you think they are worth. They have many weaknesses or cons in their game hence why they somewhat struggle after leaving the Bulls. Butler needs to prove that he deserves more after this season. If he does prove that and the Bulls' GM doesn't come through and put more money on the table then I take back this statement but for now no. He needs to knock those shots down on a consistent basis to qualify for more money if you ask me.

Bulls are matching whatever offer Jimmy gets in RFA, if they fail to come to a deal beforehand. Bulls are capped out regardless, and in the tax regardless. They'll have no money to find a replacement. May as well go over the cap to sign him.

You can thank the overpaid players in the NBA *cough cough Burks & Hayward cough cough*.
Butler is a great two way player but not sure if I'd invest a max contract in him just yet...

masgi wrote:

Ring_Me wrote:

SF88 wrote:The Bulls cheap GM comes through again.

This is the same guy who hesitated to give Thibs a lucrative contract extension and let good bench players who helped them like Nate Robinson, Marco Belenelli, and Kyle Korver all go.

That's without mentioning the whole Luol Deng fiasco.

It's not so much about the GM being cheap but quality players who deserve the real type of money they earn. Those players you listed didn't deserve more than you think they are worth. They have many weaknesses or cons in their game hence why they somewhat struggle after leaving the Bulls. Butler needs to prove that he deserves more after this season. If he does prove that and the Bulls' GM doesn't come through and put more money on the table then I take back this statement but for now no. He needs to knock those shots down on a consistent basis to qualify for more money if you ask me.

Bulls are matching whatever offer Jimmy gets in RFA, if they fail to come to a deal beforehand. Bulls are capped out regardless, and in the tax regardless. They'll have no money to find a replacement. May as well go over the cap to sign him.

They won't need money for a replacement if they think Doug McDermott is the replacement.

SF88 wrote:

masgi wrote:

Ring_Me wrote:
It's not so much about the GM being cheap but quality players who deserve the real type of money they earn. Those players you listed didn't deserve more than you think they are worth. They have many weaknesses or cons in their game hence why they somewhat struggle after leaving the Bulls. Butler needs to prove that he deserves more after this season. If he does prove that and the Bulls' GM doesn't come through and put more money on the table then I take back this statement but for now no. He needs to knock those shots down on a consistent basis to qualify for more money if you ask me.

Bulls are matching whatever offer Jimmy gets in RFA, if they fail to come to a deal beforehand. Bulls are capped out regardless, and in the tax regardless. They'll have no money to find a replacement. May as well go over the cap to sign him.

They won't need money for a replacement if they think Doug McDermott is the replacement.

Butler plays the 2 and McDermott the 3. McDermott may very well be the SF of the future, but there's another wing spot there. And Butler is a lockdown defender, while McDermott is a liability right now. He can't replace Jimmy there.

It would be nice to know whats considered a hometown discount.
If it was 5 mil range than its understandable to turn it down.
Bulls offered luol 10 mil per year in a hometown discount offer. luol declined and signed for the same amount, and the way he was shooting 10 mil was almost too much.
lance stephenson money is where i would ball park jimmy right now. 1st team all nba defense and if his offense is anything like it was in preseason , then we are looking at 10 mil or more.

i am a selfless team first player, therefore i insist several years of guaranteed, financially handcuffing money even though I have not proven anything (but one day i might), otherwise i will take my extremely team oriented and totally not about me services elsewhere

as long as the spurs continue to win while conducting business in a manner that is the exact opposite of how all these agents are advising their clients to do business, every single one of them will continue to have zero credibility

PrecociousNeoph wrote:i am a selfless team first player, therefore i insist several years of guaranteed, financially handcuffing money even though I have not proven anything (but one day i might), otherwise i will take my extremely team oriented and totally not about me services elsewhere

as long as the spurs continue to win while conducting business in a manner that is the exact opposite of how all these agents are advising their clients to do business, every single one of them will continue to have zero credibility

The Spurs are not the rule, they are the exception, and if you were in a similar position I'd doubt you'd take less than you thought you were worth.

Teams are building around stars of the future but Butler hasn't proven that capability yet. Unless he can learn to shoot, he will be like Tony Allen and Bruce Bowen, among others, that are great defenders but very limited offensively. Butler needs an above average year in all aspects of his game to get consideration as a future star. In any event, Thibodeau will overuse Butler like a rented mule, so he will get his chance to stand out.