| 08 December 2011
At least that's what Woj is reporting:
As Caron Butler completes his personal tour of NBA suitors, the Chicago Bulls remain the team to beat for him, league sources said.
Butler left his meeting with the Bulls earlier this week with a deep appreciation for coach Tom Thibodeau, sources said. Butler’s willingness to possibly take less money from a championship contender is made easier with his personal business holdings.
Sweet. My impression was that for whatever reason, he was more interested in joining the Clippers, only because he met with them twice two days in a row, whereas he left his meeting with the Blls rather quickly. So to me this is kind of surprising, but I welcome it.
Although Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald is reporting that Butler is more of a backup option:
On priorities, I’ve said all along J-Rich is top choice. Butler, Crawford, Vince, J. Howard, Redd, back-from-China JR Smith are backup plan.
To answer a couple questions, why are Bulls interested in SF Caron Butler? It’s all about late-game offense. Think Dallas showed in Finals..a second clutch shooter like Jason Terry can be more help with scoring than he is a liability on defense.
I would probably agree with that sentiment. Although I really don't like Jamal Crawford even though he might fit in right there on that list. But yes, it would be nice to have Caron in there as a late game option. Same goes for J-Rich, although to me, Caron is more of an aggressive guy who still wants the ball in his hands in those type of situations. J-Rich, not sure if he's at that stage of his career anymore. But I like what J-Rich brings to the table overall in terms of what the Bulls are trying to do moreso than what Butler brings to the table.
If either one comes to the Bulls, it's absolutely huge for this team. Especially considering the fact that the Heat just agreed to terms with Shane Battier. Just another lock down defender to throw at D-Rose, so it's now double important for the Bulls to find a complimentary player to take some pressure off him on offense. So I am hopeful that Woj's reporting is accurate, which it usually is. Although I am unsure on how this effects the Bulls' thougth process on holding out for J-Rich.
And oh yeah, Eddy Curry is likely to sign with the Heat as well. Early reports are claiming that it's a 5 year contract and the terms are Curry gets unlimited Big Mac meals for 4 of the years and the 5th year his pay gets downgraded to Happy Meals. And the Heat will now be referred to as the Big 4.5.
