With Derrick Rose gone and Joakim Noah (along with Pau Gasol) likely on his way out as well, the Chicago Bulls are now unquestionably Jimmy Butler’s team and Fred Hoiberg insists that he can co-exist with the All-Star shooting guard.
Butler called out his head coach following a tough loss last season, but their relationship appears to have improved.
The Bulls went 42-40 and missed the Playoffs in Hoiberg’s first year on the bench.
Per the AP:
Called out by Jimmy Butler last season, Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg insisted Monday that he can still work with the two-time All-Star guard. […] Absolutely, I can,” he said.
Hoiberg met with Butler and several other players recently in Los Angeles and saw him again in Chicago last week. He said they have been in “constant communication” since the end of the season. […] “He’s in a great frame of mind right now,” Hoiberg said at a news conference to introduce first-round draft pick Denzel Valentine of Michigan State.
General manager Gar Forman denied reports that the Bulls were in discussions to send Butler to Minnesota or Boston on Thursday night. But he also acknowledged after the draft that the Bulls had talks about moving up and that they liked Providence point guard Kris Dunn, who went to the Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick. Forman also said that night the Bulls never made a call offering Butler but other teams inquired about him.
