The Chicago Bulls have extended Jimmy Butler a max qualifying offer in free agency and the team has a priority of keeping him on a contract this summer as a restricted free agent and this comes as the Lakers are interested in giving him a deal, while the Bulls may look at a Taj Gibson trade to help free up cap space after drafting Bobby Portis in the NBA draft.
The Bulls lost to the Cavaliers in the playoffs and made a major change with Tom Thibodeau getting fired and now Fred Hoiberg is taking over as head coach. Butler is the main priority for the Bulls this summer, as he has emerged as one of the best young players in the league and it would be tough for the team to lose him. According to ESPN.com, the Bulls have given Butler a qualifying offer and a max qualifying offer and those two things give the team a strong chance at keeping Butler as a free agent.
The Bulls have the inside track because Butler is a restricted player, but other teams could get frisky and try to give him a deal. The Lakers reportedly are looking to give Butler an offer and according to Yahoo Sports, Butler's "intrigue" is increasing about signing a deal with the team. Butler reportedly wants a short term deal over the max to keep his value high as the salary cap goes up and Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that a one year deal with the Lakers is an option. But now the Bulls have taken care of that part of things for the moment.
The Bulls may also look at a Taj Gibson trade, as the Chicago Tribune reports he could be on the trading block this summer. The team just drafted Bobby Portis and with the emergence of Nikola Mirotic, Gibson could be the odd man out. Gibson is making over $8 million the next two years and the front court is pretty stacked with Mirotic, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah.
The Bulls are planning to match any deal that Butler gets and according to Pro Basketball Talk, the team used the double qualifying offers to ensure that no other team can offer Butler less than three years. The three year deal could still be in the wheelhouse for Butler if he wants to maximize his value down the line, but taking away the option of a deal with fewer years for the Lakers is an advantage for the Bulls. The Bulls can offer Butler a max deal of five years, $90 million and that is likely what they want, as Butler knows a max deal in a few years will be well over $100 million.
Yahoo Sports reports that Butler is interested in a shorter deal to take advantage of the NBA TV money and salary cap and that could set up a battle with the Bulls. Butler can use meetings with other teams or an offer from someone else to get the Bulls to where he wants and that could happen with the Lakers depending on what they offer. Butler is likely to stay with the Bulls, but Medina reports that he could think about leaving, as there was some rumored tension with Derrick Rose this year and Butler may not want a max deal from Chicago right now, which is what the team plans on giving him.
