After a breakthrough season, Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler is set to become a restricted free agent this summer and that will mean a big payday compared to the $2 million he made this season. The Bulls have every intention of bringing him back but with the limited amount of quality star players around the NBA, there will be more than a couple of teams interested in stealing the 25-year-old star away from Chicago.
The good news is that he’s a restricted free agent, so the Bulls will be able to match any offer. The challenge is that they’ll have Derrick Rose on the books for $20 million, Joakim Noah at $13.4 million, Taj Gibson at $8.5 million and Pau Gasol at $7.5 million. Butler will demand a max deal and the likes of the New York Knicks might give it to them. The question is whether the Bulls will match. Let’s take a look at the best landing spots for Butler in terms of straight-up fantasy value.
Chicago Bulls
Butler enjoyed a breakthrough season for the Bulls this season, averaging a team-high 20.0 points per game along with 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Wherever he goes, he will be an excellent two-way player that can put up solid statistics at both ends of the floor but perhaps it would be best for his fantasy value if he stayed in Chicago. The Bulls already have a solid cast in place including Rose and Gasol, and it makes more sense that he would continue to develop his chemistry with his current teammates rather than starting over somewhere new where there would certainly be an adjustment period. Rose is a wildcard in terms of his health status but even playing side by side, Butler’s value has been just fine.
Factor in that Chicago plays in the Eastern Conference where the parity is a lot weaker than it is in the Western Conference where there are so many quality teams and it seems as though the Bulls are still the best team for Butler’s fantasy value next season.
New York Knicks
The Knicks are among the other teams reportedly in the mix to push hard for Butler’s services this offseason and they wouldn’t necessarily be a terrible fit considering they play in the Eastern Conference and have plenty of cap space to add to their roster this offseason. However, Butler would cost a big chunk of their available cap space and then there is the issue of Carmelo Anthony returning to New York as the team’s primary offensive weapon next season. A potential move to the Knicks would take away from the number of touches Butler gets at the offensive end of the floor and who knows what type of chemistry he’ll have with Anthony. In truth, fantasy general managers won’t care about wins and losses as much as they’ll care about the amount of burn he’ll get. And in New York, he’ll get all the minutes he can handle and that likely translates into quality fantasy production.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are another team very interested in making a strong push for Butler’s services, as they reportedly are set to offer him a max contract in the offseason.
A potential move to L.A. would only work out for his fantasy value if the Lakers were able to add at least one more quality player and have Kobe Bryant commit to being more of a ball distributor. Good luck with that.
The return of Julius Randle would undoubtedly help out in the first area but even though Bryant has shown flashes of what he can do when he wants to move the basketball, there is no guarantee that he will be able to commit to being the team’s second- or third-best pure scoring option. The Lakers certainly have a need for an athletic player like Butler that could provide them with a significant talent boost but a move to Los Angeles wouldn’t have the same positive impact on his fantasy value as staying with Chicago would.
