Report: Jimmy Butler Will Pursue Shorter-Term Offer Sheets In Restricted Free Agency
(CBS) Bulls wing Jimmy Butler, an impending restricted free agent, desires a shorter-term deal this offseason so that he can maximize his earning potential after the NBA salary cap takes a massive spike starting in 2016-'17, Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
Butler, 25, intends to pursue shorter-term offer sheets from other teams and resist the Bulls' initial plan to offer him a five-year max deal that would be worth around $90 million, Wojnarowski reported. Chicago will have the right to match any offer, but if Butler signs an offer sheet with another team, the Bulls must sign him on those same terms.
The Bulls have publicly stated they intend to keep Butler. For his part, Butler on multiple occasions during the season indicated he wants to remain in Chicago, but it's possible his line of thinking has changed.
"The whole city, this is home for me," Butler said last Oct. 31, when he and the Bulls failed to come to terms on a new deal.
"I love it here. This is where I want to be. I love my teammates, the fan base, the organization."
Butler reiterated that point, albeit with less conviction, on May 7 at a ceremony honoring him as the NBA's Most Improved Player. Butler averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals (11th in the NBA) while shooting 46 percent from the field and playing a league-leading 38.7 minutes per game in 2014-'15 when he was named as All-Star for the first time.
Butler's viewed as a key component for new coach Fred Hoiberg to build around.
"To be a Bull (long term)?" Butler said. "I think so. I think this is a place for me. I love playing with the guys that we have. They continue to bring in great, high-character guys that fit the team role. I love it here. I'm happy to be here."
Perhaps Butler's ideal plan would be to sign a deal that allows him to become a free agent in summer 2017, when the salary cap for the 2017-'18 season is expected to jump as high as $108 million. The salary cap for 2015-'16 is projected to be $67.1 million, but a new TV deal that kicks in will take it to around $90 million for the 2016-'17 season.
Under a bigger salary cap in a few years, Butler could be in line for a five-year deal worth up to $190 million, Wojnarowski reported.
To become a free agent in 2017, Butler would need to sign a two-year deal or a three-year deal in which he holds the player option in the third season. That could come in the form of a three-year offer sheet worth around $50 million, Wojnarowski reported.
Still, the Bulls would seem to have a little leverage in that situation. If the Bulls make a maximum qualifying offer -- in other words, that maximum contract offer of five years worth around $90 million -- other teams' offer sheets must be for at least three seasons, not including option years, according to Larry Coon's detailed CBA breakdown (#44). In that case, Butler couldn't become a free agent until the 2018 season, setting back his time frame for a huge payday by a season.
Butler will become a restricted free agent as soon as the Bulls make him a qualifying offer, which is a formality. Butler could sign a one-year qualifying offer at about $4.4 million and play out the 2015-'16 season to become an unrestricted free agent in summer 2016, but that's still considered a "long shot" in Wojnarowski's mind.
Wojnarowski told the Mully and Hanley Show on 670 The Score on Wednesday morning that the most likely outcome is still that Butler remains a Bull.