Stop asking Jimmy Butler about his relationship with Derrick Rose.
The Chicago Bulls’ duo has faced plenty of questions over the last year. Their ties have been painted as less than cordial in the past—fodder for the rumor mill and evidence of why the Bulls are so far from where they’re expected to be.
But Jimmy Butler is done denying that premise. In fact, he appears done with that premise, and its subsequent questions, in general, per Sam Smith of Bulls.com:
“I want to play with my guys,” said Butler. “The guys who are going to be out there are probably still going to be out here next year. They need to get comfortable and get momentum and confidence going into next season. I love this game, this organization, my teammates. I just want to play. I feel like I’ve missed too many games already. Ain’t no need to add two more on top of it.”
But Butler, who generally is conversational with media, uncharacteristically grew irritated when asked yet again about whether he and Rose do not mesh.
“C’mon, man, that (crap) always comes up when people lose,” Butler spat. “I’m tired of talking about that (crap). I ain’t answering that.”
This is most definitely a tired trope by this point. Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose don’t appear to be the best of friends, but they don’t need to be. They don’t freeze each other out on the basketball court, and while there is an obvious disconnect in their play styles, they’ve barely played together since Butler arrived. Rose has lost a ton of games due to injury, and Butler wasn’t the pinnacle of good health this season, either.
The Bulls do, however, need to figure out if this is a pairing they want to keep together long term, especially now, after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Rose will be a free agent in 2017, and the rumor mill is already alive with speculation that suggests Chicago might look to move Butler over the summer.
Moving Rose, for the record, is just about impossible. Though he has just one year left on his deal, he will earn more than $21.3 million. No team can (or will want to) absorb that without sending back potentially bad contracts in return. It’s not entirely clear where Rose fits in today’s NBA anyway. He has a mercurial health bill to his name, and the market for point guards who can’t shoot threes isn’t too deep.
For now, and through at least the next year, the Butler-Rose marriage is what the Bulls have. They must try to make it work, as the media tries to avoid aggravating Butler with questions into why it’s not actually working.
