While Chicago is out of the playoffs after losing in six games to the Cleveland Cavaliers, reports are surfacing that there is tension between Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose according to sources to CBS Chicago’s Dan Bernstein.
Sources describe a passive-aggressive reaction from Rose that was the culmination of tensions building in recent weeks with Butler’s emergence as a primary scorer.
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Butler is very aware that he won his bet on himself and is poised to reap the reward of a maximum contract from the Bulls, whether or not it takes an offer sheet from another club in restricted free agency this summer. Butler’s emergence was validated by the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, and he’s now feeling every bit the star, with all that entails.
After scoring 31 points in the first quarter of Game 6, Chicago wound up netting 42 the remainder of the game. Was Rose and Butler’s apparent tension the result of the poor finish to the Bulls’ season?
Either way, Butler is in for a huge pay-day this offseason from someone (likely the Bulls) after showing that he’s arguably the best two-way players in the NBA this season.
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