Marquette small forward Jimmy Butler was one of 54 players invited to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago last month. He’ll soon be heading back down I-94 again, this time as a member of the Chicago Bulls . GM Gar Forman selected him with the 30th (last) pick in the first round of the draft last night. Forman talked with the media after the draft about Butler, and said he envisions him playing some two in addition to the three.
Chicago’s GM said that Butler was exactly who they wanted, and was shocked that he was available at that position. It’s pretty obvious that Chicago is in dire need of a shooting guard, and outside shooting in general, which is not Butler’s strengths. But then again, after Klay Thompson, there were real legit SG prospects in this draft. Butler said hes working on his shot though.
And he has something else that fits in well with the Bulls- defense.
By Paul M. Banks
“I’m a guard, that’s how I’m going to make my mark in this league. I’ll put in the work to guard Lebron, guard Wade, all those guys so I can help the Bulls get to the championship,” Butler told the local media on draft night.
“I think the biggest thing is defense, that’s where I’m going to take up space and be a pest. Make ’em work for every little thing. I take it personally when someone tries to score on me. I know you can’t shut guys down completely every night, but I’m going to give it my all on both ends of the floor every night.”
So he’ll fit right in with Coach Tom Thibodeau’s system, which stresses playing hard defense above all.
“I’m excited because I really take pride in that,” he said.
Jimmy was all-Big East Honorable Mention during his final two seasons at Marquette. He was the Eagles’ second leading scorer and rebounder last season. A solid passer and decent scorer with solid fundamentals within a team game, it will be interesting to see how he fits in when both he and Luol Deng are on the floor.
Here is our Combine interview with Butler. We touched on his time at Marquette, the advice Wesley Matthews and Lazar Hayward have passed on, the impact Buzz Williams has had on him and much, much more.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter