Butler, Wade warm up to Rondo, want him to stay with Bulls

There could be hope for the Three Alphas after all.

Excitement (at least internally) surrounded the Chicago Bulls after signing Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo last summer, but that dissipated over the course of the up-and-down regular season.

After losing his starting spot and falling out of the rotation, Rondo told the media he has no qualms about demanding a trade. He also called out Wade and Jimmy Butler, questioning their leadership while siding with their younger teammates. It's believed his rebellion - and lack of overall fit - prompted the club to shop Rondo ahead of the trade deadline, to no avail, and consider buying out his contract.

But after squeaking into the playoffs, the four-time All-Star stepped up and helped the Bulls notch road victories against the Boston Celtics to go up 2-0 in the first-round series.

Rondo's 2016-17 stats

Related: Rondo flirts with triple-double as Bulls take 2-0 series lead

Both Wade and Butler praised the point guard for those performances. However, the Chi-Town cheer didn't last long, as Rondo suffered a thumb injury and watched from the sidelines as his team dropped the next four games to close out their campaign.

When it was all over, Butler said "of course" he'd like to see the 31-year-old remain a Bull.

"He's been huge for us this year, man," the All-Star said following Friday's Game 6 loss, as quoted by ESPN's Nick Friedell. "Molding these young guys into the type of player that they need to be on this basketball floor, in that film room, around everybody. And obviously, the way he plays the game, getting everybody involved, yeah I love playing with him. Him and D-Wade, all these other guys."

Wade is also back on the Rondwagon.

"I really became a fan of Rondo as the season went on," the veteran shooting guard told Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald on Saturday. "Helps to have another coach on floor."

Coach Fred Hoiberg echoed the sentiments of his top two players, saying his men "played great basketball" since the 2008 NBA champ returned to the starting lineup in the middle of March.

"I love Rondo," Hoiberg told reporters, according to Friedell. "I love coaching him. I love everything about the kid. He was so good to have out there on the floor. And when we put him back in the starting lineup with Niko (Mirotic), with Jimmy, we got a lot accomplished. We played an exciting style of basketball. A fun style of basketball to watch, a fun style of basketball to coach. And Rajon was responsible for a lot of that."

Rondo's contract will become fully guaranteed for $13.4 million in 2017-18 if Chicago keeps him past June 30.