Change of Plans for Jimmy Butler? 

As the NBA season went through, the reports were made clear that the Chicago Bulls’ plans were to lock up Jimmy Butler with a max contract, but will both sides be interested by the end? The newest twist has it that the restricted free agent is becoming “far less interested” in that option, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The NBA is set to dramatically raise the salary cap in the 2016-2017 season, so it seems as though Butler is looking for a smaller contract instead of locking himself up into a long-term deal. With Butler being a restricted free agent, the only issue for him is that Chicago has the right to match any offers given during the free agency period.

Something that Butler and his agent could do is find a short term deal worth a lot of money and clauses, and then see if the Bulls dare to risk it on their young stud. One team that screams as a team with no money issues is the Los Angeles Lakers. A player of this calibre-style is arguably a “must have” as the team continues to rebuild, so why not throw an offer his way? Butler will be spending a lot of his off-season in the city of Los Angeles, so it would be a shock for Lakers’ management not to be in touch with Butler.

Several teams have stated that the smartest way to go about the process of offering a contract to Butler is a max deal, but for a short amount of years. This would then allow Butler to back out after said years, or to re-sign if he is satisfied with the new home.

All in all the NBA off-season will hold a lot of surprises, and it’ll be interesting to watch the Bulls monitor Jimmy Butler through free agency.