During the 2017 NBA Draft last month, the Chicago Bulls finally pulled the trigger on a trade to move All-Star forward Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Throughout the entire process, Butler didn't appear at any moment to waver in his long-term commitment to the franchise. In a recent interview on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Butler admitted that he thought was going to stay with the Bulls for the long haul. (h/t Chicago Sun Times)
“I thought I was going to be there so I’m not going to say word for word what they said, but when I left there I did think I was going to be there,’’ Butler said. “But like I said, it’s a business and it is what it is.
“I said [to them in the meeting] we were OK. I said a lot of things about the future that if I could control it I would do this, but I can’t.
“I have nothing against anybody on that team, anybody in that organization, but they were so stuck on not building around me, but maybe building with me as they would say or going young. A rebuild. So it was one or the other. I just wanted to know. Was it clear when I left that meeting what we were going to do? No. Maybe I was told some things that I took as, ‘You might be here.’ ‘’
This was clearly out of Butler's control and he had no intention of leaving the Bulls. He was committed toward staying the face of the franchise following the departure of Derrick Rose last summer. However, things didn't transpire in the way the front office had hoped with him in that role.
It also paints a much clearer picture that it was Chicago who deemed it was time to move on from Butler despite him still having three years left on his five-year, $92.3 million contract. It puts them in full rebuild mode with their young core group of players aside from All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.
Meanwhile, Butler now finds himself with a prime opportunity to create something special in Minnesota alongside promising talents in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins under his former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.
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