Gar Forman: Bulls 'Real Confident' About Jimmy Butler's Looming Restricted Free Agency
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) – Bulls general manager Gar Forman knows what he'll be doing next Wednesday if all goes to plan.
He'll be hammering out a new deal with restricted free agent Jimmy Butler, the Bulls' 25-year-old All-Star wing who figures to command a maximum-level contract. The Bulls will have the rights to retain Butler by matching any offer from another team.
The Bulls can offer Butler a max deal that's worth about $90 million over five years. Other teams can offer deals over four years that would check in around $67 million.
"Our goal all along, obviously, is to have Jimmy here long term," Forman said Thursday night during a press conference to introduce No. 22 pick Bobby Portis. "We feel real confident in our situation, how well he fits and that Jimmy's comfortable in Chicago. Our goal will be on July 1 to sit down with him and hopefully come to deal in a timely fashion."
Butler is considering pursuing a shorter-term deal , according to reports, so that he can become an unrestricted free agent sooner and maximize his earning potential as the salary cap is set to spike to nearly $90 million in 2016-'17 when a new TV deal kicks in.
Asked directly if Butler wanting to sign a shorter deal worries him, Forman danced around the question.
"We'll sit down and talk about that and talk about what he's looking for and what we're looking for, hopefully come to something that's beneficial to both sides and move forward from there," Forman said. "Obviously, Jimmy's a huge, huge part of what we're doing and we'll do everything we can and anticipate him being in Chicago."
Forman was certain in one regard – that Butler and point guard Derrick Rose are the ideal complements for one another, despite speculation of a rift between the two following a disjointed season-ending loss to Cleveland in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"There's no reason at all that those two, their games shouldn't fit together perfectly," Forman said. "I've read about the friction. I haven't seen it. In all of our minds, you've got two guys that can attack, that want to run, that can play off the dribble, can play-make for themselves and others. They haven't have a chance to do it a whole lot because of the injuries, but there's no reason those two shouldn't be able to play at a high level and in our opinion be one of the best backcourt in the league.
Added new coach Fred Hoiberg: "They complement each other beautifully."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
