All season long, rumors swirled around Chicago that Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose weren’t exactly seeing eye to eye. Butler entered the league when Rose was the MVP, but of course, Derrick hasn’t seen much of the court since. In his time out, Butler has somewhat emerged as the face of the franchise. Perhaps that’s the cause for the rumors of the bad blood between the two.
Now that Derrick Rose is in New York, Jimmy Butler is opening up a bit about what went down in Chicago last week. Jimmy was a guest on ESPN’s “The Jump,” and said he wasn’t really surprised by the traded, figuring it had to be one or the other. All of a sudden, the Bulls may end up being one of the worst teams in the East if this fire sale continues.
“I can’t say that I was surprised, but I knew that it had to be one of us, to tell you the truth. Obviously, I enjoyed playing with him. I came into the league when he was an MVP. I have so much respect for the guy. I have no bad things to say about him, and I wish him the best moving forward.”
It’s not clear why Butler feels that it had to be one of them. Rose is entering a contract year and they don’t play the same position. Speaking strictly from and Xs and Os standpoint, it could’ve worked. Something else was obviously at play.
H/T: ESPN
