There may be no player who has improved his reputation one month into the NBA season as much as Jimmy Butler has.
The fourth-year shooting guard has been steadily delivering on all of the two-way promise he's flashed in the past three seasons, grading out as one of the Eastern Conference's best players so far. The shot that looked broken a year ago is coming back, he's been far more capable and aggressive off the bounce and his perimeter defense remains All-World.
In other words, Butler is establishing himself as a bona fide star.
"I mean, (Butler has) been incredible," Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said this week. "He's a star. And he does it on both ends of the floor. He's an amazing player."
In October, Butler said he was betting on himself in turning down an extension offer from the Bulls, a move that now looks to have been quite intelligent. The Bulls are said to have offered a four-year deal worth more than $40 million, according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times, but Butler could very well have himself in the discussion for a max deal as a restricted free agent this summer.
Through 13 games, Butler is averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals. The Bulls are better at both ends of the floor when he plays and, if you're into advanced measures in small samples, Butler ranks eighth in the league Win Shares so far, despite missing a pair of games.
Considering Klay Thompson got a five-year, $70-million deal, and considering how well Butler is playing to start the year, a four-year, $40-million offer could seem laughable by the summer. The Bulls still hold a major edge in retaining Butler, but he could be the recipient of a lot of phone calls on July 1.
