Jimmy Butler on extension talks with Bulls: 'I want to be here'

Jimmy Butler and the Chicago Bulls haven't reached an extension agreement with the Oct. 31 deadline just a month away, but the swingman isn't thinking that far ahead.

"Basketball is my main focus, not really the contract situation," Butler said after practice on Tuesday, via ESPN.

The 2011 draft pick will become a restricted free agent next summer if the two sides don't reach an agreement by the Halloween deadline, but Butler doesn't plan on going anywhere.

"I want to be here. I think the Bulls want me here. So however long it takes, as long as we get it worked out." 

Butler also said that his camp and the Bulls are working on an extension and are "moving in the right direction."

Butler, one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, saw his scoring jump last season (from 8.6 points per game to 13.1) with increased minutes and touches. However, the Marquette product shot just 39.7 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from three-point territory.

If Butler can regain the range that saw him shoot better than 38 percent from deep in 2012-13, he could become one of the better 3-and-D wing players in the league.

"This year he's huge for us because we're really going to need him to make that consistent outside shot, and I think teams are not ready for it," Derrick Rose said.

If Butler does make it to restricted free agency, an improved shooting season would only boost his stock further.