| 08 December 2011
Sure enough, my initial inclinations were right on. Butler chose the Clips. I knew it from the second I heard he had a second meeting with them like 12 hours after the first meeting. Right then, I knew it was over, in spite of what Woj reported just hours ago.
The deal is for 3 years and $24 mill. The most the Bulls would be able to offer is the mid-level exception, which is roughly $5 mill a year. Sure enough, Caron chose money over winning. Sure, playing with Blake Griffin is appealing, but come on. That team is just not a contender. Not even with Caron Butler. If the first priority was winning, he without a doubt would have chosen the Bulls. I don't think anyone can argue with that and I don't know if anyone holds it against him, except for NBA purists.
Is it the end of the world? No. The Bulls may have dodged a bullet. While I would've liked to see what Butler brought to the table, the truth is, I was trying to talk myself into it. We all were. In reality, he's a ball-stopper, a me-first small forward who doesn't pass and no longer has the knees to create. Literally, he has had knee problems since entering the league and may not have an ACL left in either knee. He pretty much never plays more than 60 games a season, if that. He's a good player who can score, but let's not make him out to be Grant Hill or T-Mac in his prime. He's a 32 year old over the hill oft-injured poorly rounded occassionally overweight and poorly rounded scorer. None of that can be refuted. The Bulls may be considering themselves lucky they can spend that MLE elsewhere.
Moving on, the Bulls now are holding their breath as they wait to speak with Jason Richardson. If that falls through, things might get bleak. Looks like we might be ROLLIN' WITH KEITH BABY. Oh good lord.
