Nikola Mirotic dismisses reports of friction between Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler

All the rumors about friction between Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler apparently are overblown. At least that’s what Nikola Mirotic says.

Mirotic, a 24-year-old forward who came over from Europe and played in a reserve role for the Chicago Bulls last season, told Hoops Hype that the two Bulls stars have a “very good” relationship.

“Actually, I’m surprised that people write about it. Their relationship is very, very good,” Mirotic said of Rose and Butler in an interview with Hoops Hype. “They are the leaders of our team and get along real, real well. You can see there’s very good communication between them in games and practices. There’s never been any problem between them that I have seen.”

Reports of issues between Rose and Butler emerged after the team lost to the Cavaliers in the playoffs in May. The tension was described as an issue borne out of Butler’s emergence while Rose had been hurt. Things kicked into higher gear when it was reported that Butler wanted to leave the Bulls for the Lakers.

That was dismissed when Butler signed a five-year, $95 million extension with the Bulls last month. Butler later said the rumors only came up because the team lost and the media was looking for story angles. He might be right, but Butler did acknowledge he and Rose need to work on their on-court chemistry, which is in question because both players consider themselves point guards and star players. How they get along on the court is really the big issue for the Bulls entering next season.