Report: Bulls Intend To Offer Jimmy Butler A Max Deal
(CBS) After he and the Bulls failed to come to a long-term extension prior to the Oct. 31 deadline, fourth-year pro Jimmy Butler has submitted a career year, averaging 21.7 points, playing premier perimeter defense and nearing his first All-Star Game berth.
For that, he's going to get paid when he's a restricted free agent come July. And it will almost assuredly be from the Bulls, who are planning to take a proactive approach and offer Butler a max deal, even before he can get into deep talks with other teams, according to the Tribune.
Internally, the Bulls are planning to take a proactive approach to contract negotiations with Butler next July and secure the shooting guard for a long-term spot alongside Derrick Rose.
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They fully expect to sign Butler to a max deal next July before another team even gets involved to tempt him with an offer sheet, which the CBA says they can after the moratorium ends. They accept that the size of Butler's contract will put the Bulls in position to pay the luxury tax, something chairman Jerry Reinsdorf says he will do for a championship contender his team is.
The news that the Bulls want to retain Butler is no surprise, but to take a proactive approach and be ready to perhaps wade into the luxury tax is noteworthy. The Bulls currently have around $63.9 million committed to 10 players for the 2015-'16 season, assuming guard Kirk Hinrich exercises his player option, according to basketball-reference.com.
Only time will tell, but a max deal to Butler -- along with rounding out the rest of the roster -- could well take the Bulls into the luxury tax next season. A max contract figures to start around $15.5 million or a bit more in the first season of the deal for Butler, who the Bulls can go over the cap to retain because he's their own free agent.
The luxury tax was set just shy of $77 million for 2014-'15, with the salary cap at $63.1 million. The 2015-'16 luxury tax and cap won't be known for certain until next July, but they will each increase. Perhaps they'll increase substantially too, because an influx of TV money will soon hit the NBA. The new TV deal starts in 2016-'17, but to avoid a massive spike in the salary cap, a smoothing mechanism for 2015-'16 has been considered, which would raise the salary cap and luxury tax more than anticipated.
