Accidentally making a point
No one’s kidding now about Butler as a PG
Just before the All- Star Game last season, shooting guard/ forward Jimmy Butler announced that all 6- 7, 220 pounds of him was entering the All- Star Weekend Skills Challenge, which until that time had been reserved for point guards.
“Who said I can’t be a point guard?” he joked.
He even tried on the nickname “Jimmy Point Guard” and liked how it fit.
But what started off as seemingly just more Butler bravado has turned into a real option for the Bulls since last week — and maybe, just maybe, has planted a seed for that position moving forward. With starting point guard Derrick Rose unavailable for the second half in Houston last Thursday, backup point guard E’Twaun Moore on a minutes restriction and Aaron Brooks a bad matchup, coach Fred Hoiberg turned to Butler to be the ballhandler and facilitator. The Bulls overcame a fourth- quarter deficit to beat the Rockets 103- 100, and Butler finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
“It’s really simple,” Butler said afterward. “Dribble, shoot when you’rere open, pass it when you’re u’re not. . . . I really just got the e easy job.”
Rose has missed sed the last two games with an elbow injury, which has s meant two more auditions for Butler playing point. In the Bulls’ loss to the Detroitoit Pistons on Saturday, Butler tler was a fantasy owner’ss dream, scoring 28 pointss with 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
Rose’s last 12- assist game was March h 10, 2012, against the Utah Jazz — three knee surgeries ago.
In a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, Butler again showed off point guard skillss with 25 points, five ve rebounds and eight ght more assists. That’s 26 assists in a three- game span, n, and two of those games were e wins.
“We’re obviously usly very comfortable with h Jimmy with the ball in his hands,” Hoiberg said. “He’s finished off a lot of games s for us. I think we all remember member what he said when en coming into the season — — that he’s a point guard. Yeah, eah, he’s done a good job, whether he brings the ball ll down, or whether we get him coming off a zipper cut to o the top of the key, run a little tle handoff to him to get the ball in his hands where he can go out and make plays. He’s such a versatile player.”
Here’s where things get interesting. Rose is a free agent after next season. The Bulls were going to draft a point guard last June, but plans changed when Bobby Portis fell to them. Point guard, however, remains a priority in this year’s draft.
If they go that route, why not move Rose to more two- guard next year, freeing him up to concentrate on his strength — scoring — and let Butler play the point while the new rookie learns the position as a backup? If Rose’s camp and the Bulls can’t get on the same page for a new contract, that would give them a point guard already mentored, and Butler as a legitimate option.