I Have Never Been More Torn About an Athlete Than I Am With Jimmy Butler

ESPN published a great interview with Butler today, and it got me thinking about him again. Naturally, I felt all of the emotions that I associate with last years Bulls, chiefly anger and deep, deep sense of melancholy. But it really made me wonder how I feel about Jimmy Butler, now that the once "face of the organization" is no longer a part of said organization, and is not afraid to voice his displeasure with said fact.

I loved Jimmy when he first got to the Bulls. He was drafted late in the first round, and got absolutely no credit as a scorer. But when he eventually cracked the starting lineup after a Luol Deng injury, he played all but 17 seconds of his first game as a starter. He’s a guy who made his name, first and foremost, off of an insane work ethic. Then he made a name for himself as a guy who could defend the league’s best for four quarters, and eventually, he proved himself to be not only a capable, but a stellar scorer. He is the embodiment of hard work, and a perfect example of scrappiness, defense, and making a name for yourself in this league.  If you haven’t read the story of Jimmy’s childhood and adolescence, please do so. I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of mental fortitude it takes to come out of a situation like that and become a somewhat normal person. It’s unbelievable, and it’s a testament to the individual Jimmy Butler is, and the mentality he wakes up with every day.

I’ll be honest, there were times late in his Bulls career where I was not a fan of Jimmy Butler. I didn’t like the way he seemingly tried to usurp Derrick Rose. I thought it was strange that he, as the leader of the Bulls, showed such blatant disrespect for a new, young coach in Fred Hoiberg, and I hated that he so saw himself above his teammates. I thought that all of last season, the Bulls seemed like a totally fucked up locker room with a complete lack of leadership. Jimmy seemed frustrated that others couldn’t match his work ethic or production, and as a result he seemed to focus more on developing a friendship/ clique with Dwayne Wade then stepping up on a team that desperately needed some leadership. When he was traded away, I was relieved. Yes, I was sad that the Bulls’ hopes for a Championship were officially gone, although to be fair they’d realistically been gone for a while. But as sad as I was to see that  we were entering rebuild mode, I was relieved that with Butler gone, it was clear that the organization was accepting that fact as well.

It seems like he’s in a better space now, both physically being on a team that has a chance to compete and surprise some people, but also with how he fits into the locker room. I think the relationship with Thibs will be great for him, because I think above all else, what Jimmy needs is to have a coach he can respect. I think Hoiberg had his growing pains his first year, and Jimmy had already seen the writing on the wall in terms of the organization’s direction. When it comes down to it, whether he loved him or not, Butler was always Thibs’ guy. He was always the prototype Thibodeau player: someone who could work at an insane pace and do whatever it took to win. He was the last serious piece of Thibodeau’s tenure, and it became clear that the attitude of the old guard wouldn’t fit with the new regime. This is all documented really well in this article by ESPN. It's a great read for any Chicago fan who wants a good cry- or anybody who’s interested in how to take an organization from having championship hopes to being cellar-dwellers in the East. I don’t know if Thibodeau is the best coach for Butler, and we may never know. But the two have reputations that were forged together. They’re both bulldogs. They’re men who will run themselves and their teams ragged to get the win, and I firmly believe that neither would be where he is without the other.

I’m bummed he couldn’t be the player or leader I wanted him to be on the Bulls. But there came a point where the organization was no longer setting him up for success. While I hope that a team built more for Hoiberg’s philosophy, led by promising young talent like Lauri Markkanen and Bobby Portis, will show some improvement; I also find it hard to believe that things will get better with Gar Forman and John Paxson sitting at the head of the table. So, in the meantime, I’ll hope for the best. I’ll cross my fingers that Butler and Thibodeau can turn some heads. And I’ll look back on the days where Thibs, season after season, took a team that was riddled with injuries and dead tired, somehow inspiring them to outperform all expectations. Because those guys put it all on the line, and goddamn were they fun to watch.