NBA News: Jimmy Butler Is Not Ruling Out a Future Return to the Chicago Bulls
Back in 2011, Jimmy Butler was a somewhat unknown wing player for the Marquette Golden Eagles who was taken 30th overall in that year's draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Butler didn't do much during his first year in the NBA, but he began to show signs that he was a capable player in his sophomore season.
Since then, Butler has only gotten better, and he's established himself as one of the best two-way players in the league.
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Butler's stint with the Bulls ended last year, as the franchise decided that it was time to rebuild after a long of stretch of consistently contending but continually coming up short.
Now playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Butler has continued to be a reliable two-way force on the court and he's arguably the team's most important player.
With only one guaranteed year left on Butler's current contract, however, it's no sure thing that he'll re-sign with the Timberwolves.
Speaking recently to the Chicago Sun-Times, Butler indicated that the decisions he will make for the rest of his career will be motivated by winning. For what it's worth, Butler mentioned during that interview that he thinks his young teammates in Minnesota are now starting to understand what it takes to win and that they are also continuing to learn more about that.
Still, the Timberwolves disappointed to a degree this year, as they only managed to snag the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference after winning what was essentially a play-in game against the Denver Nuggets.
The Timberwolves also didn't do that much to indicate that they will be a threat to the Western Conference's elite next season, and there's no guarantee they will even be a playoff team again with other clubs set to improve.
In all likelihood, Butler will stick in around in Minnesota for at least one more year because of his contract. Howeve, after next season, winning will dictate where he goes, and interestingly enough, chasing after winning could bring him back to where he started his NBA career.
The Bulls may be bad now, but by the time Butler is a free agent, they could be in prime position to contend again.
They already have one building block in sweet-shooting big man Lauri Markkanen, and they have another opportunity to add a key piece this summer via the draft.
Per Tankathon, the Bulls are currently lined up to pick in the sixth spot in the draft, which means they are in range for top prospects like the Missouri Tigers' Michael Porter Jr. and the Texas Longhorns' Mohamed Bamba.
If the Bulls are bad again next season, then that's not necessarily the worst thing for the franchise as they could be in position then to take another talented youngster.
What this means is that by the time Butler is a free agent, he could look at the NBA landscape and see a Bulls roster teeming with young talent that just needs a veteran to lead them and he could be that guy.
Butler also expressed plenty of love for the city of Chicago and for the Bulls organization during that aforementioned interview, so it's certainly possible that he could return eventually.
Winning in the Windy City could be the dream for Jimmy Butler, and who knows, maybe he'll get another opportunity to do that in the not too distant future.
