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McCaffrey: Bulls' Future Is Clouded

By Brendan McCaffrey-

(CBS) It appears the Bulls' championship window quietly closed Tuesday night after the team announced guard Derrick Rose tore his right meniscus for the second time in as many years.

As if to hammer that point home, the seemingly shell-shocked Bulls responded to the Rose news by sleepwalking through a 98-86 loss to a poor Charlotte Hornets team Wednesday night at the United Center. The loss snapped a four-game home winning streak.

"We've got to figure it out, you know," guard Jimmy Butler said after the game. "Next man up, unfortunately."

For the Bulls organization, next man up means more than merely filling Rose's spot on the roster. It's time to figure out who becomes the former MVP's place as the building block for the team. At this point, counting onRose to be the Bulls best player is a fools' errand.  Rose has proved unreliable, betrayed by his own body.

As a first-time All-Star enjoying his best season as a professional, Butler appears to be the best option the Bulls have to build around. Wednesday's performance was quiet, with 14 points, three turnovers and a few baffling defensive lapses. For his part, Butler believes that replacing Rose's output falls on the entire team, not just himself and Pau Gasol, the other Bulls' All-Star.

"It's a team game, not just on two people," Butler said. "I think we have to pick up the load to for Derrick, but it's not just on (Gasol and me)."

At 25, Butler gambled before this season, turning down a multi-year contract extension from the Bulls before turning in this year's All-Star campaign. He's expected to fetch a maximum contract in restricted free agency this offseason, and the Bulls in turn are expected to match any offer.

Can Butler be counted on to take another step forward in his development? Without another leap in performance, Butler feels closer to a second-best or more likely a third-best player on a contending team. Despite that, Butler is the best hope the Bulls have moving forward. Rose has been reduced to a highly compensated "fly in the ointment," eating nearly 30 percent of the Bulls' salary cap and rendering himself impossible to trade.

Outside of Butler and rookie forward Nikola Mirotic, the Bulls don't have valuable assets to trade, with veterans like Gasol, Mike Dunleavy and Aaron Brooks all 30 or older. Gasol's resurgence this season has been remarkable, but he's not a realistic trade piece.

Joakim Noah, who turned 30 on Wednesday, brings a significant injury history with knee and foot problems, and he provides little value on the offensive end. Taj Gibson has injury history as well, including nagging ankles and a hand injury that he recently disclosed, and he turns 30 in June. In terms of draft picks, the Bulls' 2015 first-rounder will fall outside of the draft lottery, and the pick they are owed from the Sacramento Kings is top-10 protected. It's unlikely they receive it this season, and drafting a star with any of those appears unlikely.

Coach Tom Thibodeau's ride-or-die approach with veterans means rookies (like Doug McDermott this season and Tony Snell last year) rarely see action, a redshirt in effect. Thibodeau will continue to lean on his veterans, trusted team-first guys like Butler. If Thibodeau manages to stay on as Bulls' coach, trading Butler isn't happening, nor is a full rebuild of the roster until at least Rose's cap money can be unloaded.

Even after Wednesday's ho-hum performance from Butler, Thibodeau had nothing but praise for the All-Star swingman.

"I thought Jimmy was aggressive tonight," Thibodeau said. "His playmaking was very strong, but we've got to make sure he's getting the looks he needs to get throughout the course of a game."

The Bulls will need everything they can get from Butler as they pick up the pieces in the wake of yet another Rose disappointment.

Brendan McCaffrey is the sports director at 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @b_mccaffrey.

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