Report: Jimmy Butler postpones meetings after Bulls offer max deals of varying lengths
The Chicago Bulls are proving flexible, which is a good start toward locking up Jimmy Butler for the foreseeable future.
Not only did the Bulls hit Butler with a maximum qualifying offer Monday - believed to be the first time an NBA team has used that weapon - they also offered him maximum contracts of varying lengths, according to a report from ESPN.
The maximum qualifying offer is a maximum contract offer right out of the gate. It's a five-year offer estimated to be worth around $90.7 million, though the exact number won't be known until after the July moratorium ends on July 8. By offering it immediately, the Bulls have made it such that any other team signing Butler to an offer sheet has to do so for at least three years, excluding options.
That's an important consideration, as Butler, who has displayed a willingness to gamble on himself in the past, is said to be intrigued by shorter deals. With the salary cap set to rise appreciably in the coming seasons, he could sign a shorter max now in order to re-enter the free agent market when a maximum deal would be substantially more lucrative.
The Bulls' offer of a four-year maximum with a player option after the third season may be the most attractive option they put in front of Butler, according to ESPN. That would allow Butler to re-enter the market at age 28, when he's accrued seven years of experience, increasing his maximum amount under the rules of the current collective bargaining agreement.
Butler can also play out the season on his one-year, $4.4-million qualifying offer, becoming an unrestricted free agent when the cap explodes next summer. That's incredibly risky, but it's an option if Butler ultimately decides he wants to leave Chicago before 2018, something he has no means of doing otherwise since the Bulls can match any offer sheet he signs.
It's all a lot to think about, and while Butler thinks things over, he's postponed meetings with other suitors.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Dallas Mavericks have all had their meetings with Butler pushed back, ESPN reports. The Lakers have been floated as a potential destination for weeks, with Butler reportedly wanting to land there on a one-year deal, though that's not allowable under the rules of the CBA.
The league's Most Improved Player this season, Butler averaged 20 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals while playing aggressive and disruptive perimeter defense. He's worthy of a maximum contract, and should he take the risk and remain healthy for 2015-16, he'll be worth the appreciably larger maximum next summer.