NBA Rumors: Milwaukee Bucks intersted in Jimmy Butler?
By Josh Hill
The Milwaukee Bucks gave the Chicago Bulls a run for their money, but could they be looking to steal away a major player for their own gain?
NBA free agency is still months away, but the players hitting the open market are going to start hearing rumors about where they could land well before they look for deals. When it comes to Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler, the attention will be on not who offers him a max contract but which team convinces him to take theirs.
The Chicago Bulls have first dibs on Butler, and all indications are that he wants to stay and play alongside Derrick Rose. But if he chooses to leave, that could be a game changer — especially if he stays in the Central.
According to Shams Charania of RealGM, one team that could make a run at Jimmy Butler are the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Even Butler’s college area connection, the Milwaukee Bucks, will have cap space in July. Around the league, there’s a question: How will Chicago handle the inevitable max out of a star player not named Rose?"
Butler went to school at Marquette, and he has toes to the area that he doesn’t have in cities with other suitors like New York, Los Angeles or Phoenix.
The Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets can play on his Texas heritage as a means of luring him in this offseason, but the Bucks have the need for him matched with the willingness to dole out cash to get him.
If Butler lands with the Bucks, that instantly makes Milwaukee a favorite to not only make the postseason again but to develop into one of the best young teams in the NBA. This is all assuming that A) the Bucks want to offer Butler max cash and B) Butler wants to leave the Bulls.
He wants to get paid, but Butler wants to play for the Bulls and the question is will the front office use that as leverage to lower his price or take it as a blessing that he doesn’t want to leave?