Report: Butler's deal contains $4.6M signing bonus; likes chances of being top backcourt
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With his betting slip officially cashed out to the tune of a five-year, $94.3-million maximum contract with the Chicago Bulls, Jimmy Butler finds himself with a bright financial future.
Butler also received quite the immediate return, too, as his deal contained a $4.6-million signing bonus, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
The existence of a signing bonus in the deal doesn't make much of a difference to the Bulls in salary cap terms, only in a real financial outlay. With what began as a contentious negotiation, floating a bonus made sense as a move to appease Butler, who earned an estimated $5.2 million over his first four seasons.
Teams can offer a signing bonus of up to 15 percent of the total deal, but can't use the bonus to exceed the maximum salary. Even if the bonus is paid up front, it's spread across each season of the deal, except for any option years. Since Butler's fifth year is a player option, the bonus is spread across only the first four years.
The important thing for Bulls fans is that Butler is back, and to hear him tell it, the Bulls now have the best backcourt in the NBA locked up long-term. Here's Butler on himself and tag-team partner Derrick Rose:
I think we can play off of each other well. Especially with the offense we're going to be running now. We both get out in transition, we can both score and we can both get the ball to the open guy. I think that's what team players do, and he's really good at that. I'm pretty good at it, too. So I like our chances of being the best backcourt (in the NBA).
With how little Rose and Butler have played together - roughly 1,500 minutes over four seasons - and how much Butler grew while Rose missed time while injured, occasional bumps in the road were understandable last year. With a new head coach in Fred Hoiberg, it's certainly possible that Rose and Butler will develop a symbiotic relationship.
Whatever the case, here's hoping this doesn't fire up another "best backcourt" discussion all offseason long.