Bernstein: Jimmy Butler Making It Clear These Are His Bulls
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) It's a new world, Bulls fans. And it might not look pretty for a while.
Gone are the days of the walk-it-up offense and lock-it-down defense that were the hallmark of Tom Thibodeau's teams, replaced now by Fred Hoiberg's quick-strike sets designed to generate early looks every possession, shot after shot after shot.
If the other team scores, just get it out of the net and go.
Learning an entirely new language and culture takes time, however, and the Bulls are in the equivalent of an immersion program, essentially finding their way around an unknown basketball planet. With Tuesday night's first practice game also missing Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Kirk Hinrich, Mike Dunleavy and Taj Gibson, it highlights an already steep learning curve for a team that believes it can ultimately contend for a title.
College coaches making the transition to the NBA routinely lament the lack of in-season practice time amid the relentless game schedule and required rest for older, wealthier bodies, and Hoiberg will be no different despite his lengthy resume in the league. It all sounds easy until the rubber meets the hardwood.
The biggest challenge he faces is the ongoing alpha-dog fight between the burgeoning Jimmy Butler and whatever is left of Rose, a very real issue despite the various, thin denials floated from all parties.
Butler was interviewed by NBA.com's David Aldridge for a piece posted Monday, and there were some notable -- if not downright inflammatory -- comments about last year's Bulls.
"I have to be a leader," Butler said. "I think I can lead vocally, and obviously with my actions on the court. I can't ask one of these rookies to dive on the floor if I'm not diving on the floor, take a charge if I'm not taking a charge. Leadership is one of the only things that this team has really been lacking."
This is the new Butler, validated by a maximum contract and a coach actively empowering him. And if you thought last year's playoff exit was ugly, with the on-court tension between Butler and Rose clear to all careful observers in an embarrassing Game 6 loss to the Cavaliers in the conference semifinals, imagine what needs to be managed in a read-based system that allows for more freedom and individual decision-making.
"My ball-handing has gotten much better," Butler said, "I worked on being a playmaker."
And there's still only one ball.
Butler's putting it out there that the Bulls are his team, even offering to Aldridge that new assistant coach Jim Boylen told Butler to prepare to be the focus of opposing defenses. Butler's also clearly celebrating the regime change, calling Hoiberg "a bigger person" than Thibodeau. This is a player speaking in no uncertain terms about how he perceives his place in any locker-room hierarchy.
"Even when you're not on the court, there's things you have to do to bring your team closer, to show your team -- this is what we have to do to win -- not only win, but win that championship," Butler said. "If you look at the numbers, if you look at former championship teams, each and every one of them had a leader on that team -- a leader that was going to work, was being very vocal. But at the same time, he was doing what he had to to help his team win. And that's who I have to be this year."
Butler says all of this knowing Rose is still on his team, as are the emotive Joakim Noah and the quietly influential Gasol. Such a proclamation is no small thing, particularly the way in which he did it -- he didn't merely say he wants to become a leader or is willing to be, but that he HAS to. He's not just appointing himself but calling everybody else out for previous failures to fill that role. It's heady stuff.
Have fun, Fred.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
