How Good is Jimmy Butler?

[kingkirk]

If these finals were occurring under normal circumstances, Jimmy's 40 point triple-double would probably be considered as one of the greatest single-game performances in NBA history. He really was unstoppable in the 4th, and LeBron had no answer for him. It just goes to show you how badly GarPax constructed teams while we had Butler, because he was rarely surrounded by shooters and spacers.

Normal circumstances or not, the context of missing his 2nd and 3rd best guy and doing what he did, bubble or not, makes it one of the greatest performances I've ever seen, Finals or otherwise.

[Wingy]

With all the picks and capspace the Bulls had, they could have easily surrounded Butler with a better cast than what Miami has done even with a Butler supermax which was very unlikely as he would have taken a discount to accommodate another star. He loved Chicago and the Bulls.
This was just a stupid and arrogant decision by Paxson. I believe if MR had taken over a few years earlier, he would have overruled Paxson on this nonsense.

It's not hindsight with Butler....many of us advocated keeping him because having a star wing player is the biggest key to success than a star biggest man or a star PG.

I will double down on this too... Jimmy would have accommodated the Bulls without a doubt if they showed him love. The Bulls if they were going to really rebuild should have never done the 3 alphas which wasn’t even that bad, but rather grew from that. Instead they missed the tank by 2 years, alienated Butler and really screwed up. Not really a stretch of imagination that if the Bulls were a 6-8 seed last year when AD had his trade demands that the Bulls would have been in the running. This last off season we would have been in the mix with everyone too honestly. Maybe you still strike out but the team would have been better and had the chance to get those guys.

Yeah, they sure as hell did Jimmy dirty when it came to giving him a real chance in Chicago. Can’t believe ownership’s GarPax obsession lost us this level of player.

I so wish they drafted Lavine over Dougy. With the gym rat Lavine is...Jimmy would’ve taken him under his wing, and I think they would’ve been two peas in a pod. Maybe Jimmy’s D would’ve rubbed off a bit too.

What a wasted opportunity with draft capital, and cap space. All the incredulous, super max fear-mongering cry babies...where are you now?

[Michael Jackson]

With all the picks and capspace the Bulls had, they could have easily surrounded Butler with a better cast than what Miami has done even with a Butler supermax which was very unlikely as he would have taken a discount to accommodate another star. He loved Chicago and the Bulls.
This was just a stupid and arrogant decision by Paxson. I believe if MR had taken over a few years earlier, he would have overruled Paxson on this nonsense.

It's not hindsight with Butler....many of us advocated keeping him because having a star wing player is the biggest key to success than a star biggest man or a star PG.

I will double down on this too... Jimmy would have accommodated the Bulls without a doubt if they showed him love. The Bulls if they were going to really rebuild should have never done the 3 alphas which wasn’t even that bad, but rather grew from that. Instead they missed the tank by 2 years, alienated Butler and really screwed up. Not really a stretch of imagination that if the Bulls were a 6-8 seed last year when AD had his trade demands that the Bulls would have been in the running. This last off season we would have been in the mix with everyone too honestly. Maybe you still strike out but the team would have been better and had the chance to get those guys.

Yeah, they sure as hell did Jimmy dirty when it came to giving him a real chance in Chicago. Can’t believe ownership’s GarPax obsession lost us this level of player.

I so wish they drafted Lavine over Dougy. With the gym rat Lavine is...Jimmy would’ve taken him under his wing, and I think they would’ve been two peas in a pod. Maybe Jimmy’s D would’ve rubbed off a bit too.

What a wasted opportunity with draft capital, and cap space. All the incredulous, super max fear-mongering cry babies...where are you now?

In fairness no one expected Jimmy’s stock to rise this high, except Jimmy Butler, but really the whole NBA has under rated him his whole career and he just keeps raising the bar. He is a real feel good story aside from the prima Donna stuff, but you can understand it because this guy has lack some skills but he has that winner gene. He backs up his prima Donna moves. Does anyone still think KAT is the better player?

[Michael Jackson]

Even LA, can you imagine that if instead of waiting for Kawhi, they went after Butler and had that big 3? Who knows Miami seemed the perfect fit for him though, he would have always been the third guy, most thought of him that way until this year. Everyone felt he couldn’t be a guy who leads a team to the finals... Guy bet on himself again.

[Butler4thewin]

Gar/Pax have been removed of their duties.

I've been working way too much with no end in sight......what happened ?

Have you been working in a cave? Lol j/k

Bulls hired a new executive vp - Arturas Karnisovas from Denver, and he hired Marc Eversley as the new GM.

Lol a rolling cave ...I've been driving a semi truck for a while while managing my other freight company which has honestly been leaving me completely exhausted daily .....I wake up 4 hours early everyday and look for loads for my guys and then also keep myself booked then drive my entire shift while dealing with billing and any other thing that comes up on the company been hard work mentally but I'm looking forward to being back in my home office again whenever that will be

[TheJordanRule]

Each Miami win has to be humiliating for the front office. The narrative that Jimmy's a dysfunctional prima donna is laughable at this point. Every franchise that let him go has gone backwards. Minnesota won 19 games this year. Philly, for all of its razzle dazzle and potential, didn't just get bounced in the first round-- they got swept. And look at the mess that our organization is right now. The sad reality is that Jimmy has been a scapegoat for the last three years, but they can't keep discrediting him anymore because his effort and work speaks for itself.

[baldur]

He is a difference-maker. He goes to a team and that team performs better. He leaves that team and they start to decline. These are no coincidence at all.

[wonderboy2]

Jimmy Butler is one of my favorite players of all time. He is a top 15 player in the league. But he is not a first option on a championship team. He’s more like a 2nd option. Miami Heat has a good system and good coaching. Thats why they are able to win without Adebayo and Dragic because they are a hard working group of players that outwork thier oppponents. I can’t remember a team less talented than the heat making the finals. Very hard nosed, blue collar team.

[Michael Jackson]

Jimmy Butler is one of my favorite players of all time. He is a top 15 player in the league. But he is not a first option on a championship team. He’s more like a 2nd option. Miami Heat has a good system and good coaching. Thats why they are able to win without Adebayo and Dragic because they are a hard working group of players that outwork thier oppponents. I can’t remember a team less talented than the heat making the finals. Very hard nosed, blue collar team.

I get the narrative that he is not a first option but not sure I fully agree. I used to hands down. I agree he is not a first option like MJ was or even Lebron. That being said is AD a first option? No? Then him and Jimmy are in the same boat. I remember when Kobe wasn’t a first option and he could never win without Shaq. Jimmy Butler literally willed this team that was in no way considered a contender in anyone’s books to the Finals. He puts on a legendary performance in game 3. I dunno I think he is more of a first option than I ever gave him credit for. Hell last year on Philly with that “stacked with talent” team he was first option in the playoffs. I honestly think that you replace Leonard on Toronto last year with Butler and you have a similar outcome.

[Leslie Forman]

The "not a first option" argument has always been an awful argument.

How is he any less of a "first option" than Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, or Isiah Thomas?

[Ice Man]

The "not a first option" argument has always been an awful argument.

How is he any less of a "first option" than Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, or Isiah Thomas?

Even setting those comparisons aside, what does that mean if a player is not a first option? That he should be jettisoned? You need players like Jimmy Butler to win games. To win titles. And you need other really good players. I don't care what the **** you call them, when you get players of that level you keep them. Then you try to find more.

[PhilLeotardo]

Jimmy Butler is one of my favorite players of all time. He is a top 15 player in the league. But he is not a first option on a championship team. He’s more like a 2nd option. Miami Heat has a good system and good coaching. Thats why they are able to win without Adebayo and Dragic because they are a hard working group of players that outwork thier oppponents. I can’t remember a team less talented than the heat making the finals. Very hard nosed, blue collar team.

/s?

[Just_Bullz]

As much I like Jimmy Butler, I think there's a need for most to take a chill pill. I know he has a historic game 3 but it's unlikely he repeats such performance in game 4.

Bron will be out to kill while AD looks to redeem himself.

Nevertheless, Jimmy is the role model for all players who's playing with a chip on their shoulders. Really hats off to him, let's just enjoy the moment and his greatness while we can.

[Ice Man]

This is a cool graphic. Unfortunately, the link doesn't save the player comparison, you have to go and create those yourselves. I did -

Jimmy Butler vs. Paul George (clear edge Butler)
Jimmy Butler vs. Kawhi Leonard (slight edge Kawhi)
Jimmy Butler vs. Zach LaVine (OMG, you don't want to do that as a Bulls fan)

The inputs are selected data from the 2019/2020 regular season.

https://arjb10.shinyapps.io/radialplots/

[Mech Engineer]

Jimmy Butler is one of my favorite players of all time. He is a top 15 player in the league. But he is not a first option on a championship team. He’s more like a 2nd option. Miami Heat has a good system and good coaching. Thats why they are able to win without Adebayo and Dragic because they are a hard working group of players that outwork thier oppponents. I can’t remember a team less talented than the heat making the finals. Very hard nosed, blue collar team.

That is nonsense. Are Harden or Kobe first options? I bet they wouldn't win anything or even make the finals with the same cast as Jimmy.

[johnnyvann840]

The "not a first option" argument has always been an awful argument.

How is he any less of a "first option" than Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, or Isiah Thomas?

Agree. It's a stupid argument. He is certainly a 1st option. What is a 1st option? It is the player who you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

Jimmy is the best player, the leader, floor general and closer of the highest magnitude on a team that is in the NBA Finals and just pulled off one of the best upsets in Finals history, while missing two of their best players. He doesn't take plays off on either side of the ball. He pulls his teammates up and makes them better. He is one of the highest positive impact players in the entire NBA where it counts... not in the box score, but on the scoreboard. People want to know what a winning player is... all they have to do is watch Jimmy play.

[robert76]

As much I like Jimmy Butler, I think there's a need for most to take a chill pill. I know he has a historic game 3 but it's unlikely he repeats such performance in game 4.

Bron will be out to kill while AD looks to redeem himself.

Nevertheless, Jimmy is the role model for all players who's playing with a chip on their shoulders. Really hats off to him, let's just enjoy the moment and his greatness while we can.

What I learned so far from watching Jimmy's NBA career is you can't put anything past him.

[TheSuzerain]

This is a cool graphic. Unfortunately, the link doesn't save the player comparison, you have to go and create those yourselves. I did -

Jimmy Butler vs. Paul George (clear edge Butler)
Jimmy Butler vs. Kawhi Leonard (slight edge Kawhi)
Jimmy Butler vs. Zach LaVine (OMG, you don't want to do that as a Bulls fan)

The inputs are selected data from the 2019/2020 regular season.

https://arjb10.shinyapps.io/radialplots/

Coby White. Woof.

[Mech Engineer]

As much I like Jimmy Butler, I think there's a need for most to take a chill pill. I know he has a historic game 3 but it's unlikely he repeats such performance in game 4.

Bron will be out to kill while AD looks to redeem himself.

Nevertheless, Jimmy is the role model for all players who's playing with a chip on their shoulders. Really hats off to him, let's just enjoy the moment and his greatness while we can.

Nobody is predicting a historic Game 4 from Jimmy. Also, remember that most Heat players except Iggy are really new to playoff battles compared to Lebron, Rondo, Green, Howard etc..

It is the dismissal of Jimmy's achievements because he is not a flashy player as Westbrook, Rose, Harden etc..who all had hype behind them from college or HS.

It seems to be a mental thing for some people to accept Jimmy is a top 10 player in the league because he was not drafted in the top and Paxson thought so.

Jimmy is making a bunch of young players look great by involving them. Kobe or Harden or Westbrook would try to win the game by themselves by scoring 50 points at bad efficiency and taking their teammates out of the game offensively but expecting then to defend.

[Wingy]

In fairness no one expected Jimmy’s stock to rise this high, except Jimmy Butler, but really the whole NBA has under rated him his whole career and he just keeps raising the bar. He is a real feel good story aside from the prima Donna stuff, but you can understand it because this guy has lack some skills but he has that winner gene. He backs up his prima Donna moves. Does anyone still think KAT is the better player?

I don't think we need to be fair here. Tip of the hat to Ice Man, and other recent posts -

It's not about knowing what he'd be at his apex. It's the fact that we already knew at the time he was clearly a top 15-20 player. Those don't grow on trees...and you need multiple players of that ilk, or above to compete for titles. Why get rid of him?

I'm for tanking in the rare transcendent drafts, but the idea of bottoming out as necessity is losing traction year after year when you look at what the Heat have done this year...how the Warriors were built through the draft w/o any top 5 picks (pre-Durant...and I'm not counting Bogut). To a lesser extent teams like the Pacers remain competitive. How teams like the Thunder remain relevant, and in a position to improve while losing superstars. How so many of the brightest prime/young stars aren't top 5 picks (e.g. - Kawhi, Giannis, Jokic, Murray, Bam, D. Mitchell, Gobert, etc.,etc.,etc.).

Trading Jimmy was done because he rubbed the outdated, way past their time FO the wrong way...and it was a terrible, horrendous choice.