The Chicago Bulls continue to have issues despite the recent wins the team has stacked up. Reports of team drama and trades continue to circle the franchise as Derrick Rose improves and Joakim Noah sits out with injuries. The team cannot seem to get themselves out of the rumor mill and this week is no different as reported tension between Rose and Jimmy Butler surface again.
Last season when Rose was out with injury, Butler rose to the occasion and became the face of the team for the season. With a nice contract extension under his belt, Butler showed he is a star in the making as he wanted to be the man in charge on the court for the Bulls. However, the return of Rose alters that as the point guard is the perceived face of the franchise. Naturally reports of tension continue to swirl around the two players.
According to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, there is tension in the locker room as teammates are unhappy that Butler is demanding a leadership role following his contract extension. Friedell said on the Posting Up podcast, "But the tension now, moving forward off the Derrick talk for a second, between Jimmy and other players in that locker room is bad. Because you can't just say, "I signed this new deal. I'm the leader." That respect has to be earned over time. Nobody is questioning Jimmy's work ethic. He's worked his tail off. But they are questioning whether Jimmy can be the leader that this group needs with so much turmoil going on around them."
Butler has made headlines lately. He publically criticized Fred Hoiberg for his coaching style on the team. He also declared himself the point guard over Rose at one point. All of this reported tension could merely be bloated media reports or there could be some truth to it. Things will only get more interesting as Rose prepares for his stint as a free agent, something he has already hinted about.
In the short-term, the Bulls need to do some adjusting and it could come in the trade market. According to Adrian Wojnarowski on his podcast with Yahoo Sports, the Bulls are willing to listen to trade deals for both Noah and Taj Gibson. The team has a log jam of big men right now with Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol and now Bobby Portis who is getting more playing time as a rookie. Wojnarowski believes Gibson is the better trade piece considering Noah has not been the same defensive threat as always while he also sits injured on the bench. The Bulls certainly do not need to make a move right now in terms of trades, but with consistency still lacking, they will keep getting linked to deals moving forward.
