The Jimmy Butler era is over for the Chicago Bulls, even if the organization probably didn’t get enough in return for a superstar in his prime. The Minnesota Timberwolves will be the beneficiary of the trade that sent Butler away from the only city he has known as a professional athlete, but before leaving, Butler released a heartfelt goodbye to Chicago on his Instagram feed.
Butler thanked the city and its fans for providing motivation to improve, and frankly, his career trajectory is extremely rare in the leap he took while playing for the Bulls. Beyond that, Butler made sure to thank Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and his family for “taking a chance” on drafting him, and he finished things off by promoting the unsung heroes of the Bulls organization.
In short, Butler did a tremendous job in publicly acknowledging what the city meant to him, and his comments live in stark opposition to that of Travelle Gaines, Butler’s trainer. Earlier in the week, Gaines ripped Gar Forman and the Bulls front office in brutal fashion, forcing Butler to distance himself from the comments.
Still, this was the best possible way to take the edge off the negativity surrounding his exit and promote the positive that is Jimmy Butler’s meteoric rise. Many team-player relationships don’t end amicably, and this one may not have, but Butler went out on a high note.
