We have heard enough information about Jimmy Butler over the past year or so to safely conclude he is not the most well-liked player in the Chicago Bulls’ locker room. And from the sound of it, he doesn’t really care.
On Saturday, Bulls.com reporter Sam Smith told Jason McIntyre on FOX Sports Radio that Butler has a “colossal ego” and isolates himself from his teammates.
“He’s really kind of full of himself,” Smith said. “He hangs around with Mark Wahlberg, the actor, and lets us know about that a lot. He goes around to premiers or whatever. He announced before the season that he’s the leader of the team and guys are looking around going, ‘What are you talking about?’
“It’s a really weird dynamic. He doesn’t like to socialize with the other players. Back in November they had a team bonding thing. They all chartered a bus and went up to wine country for the day. The only one who didn’t go was Jimmy.”
This isn’t exactly earth-shattering information, but it certainly sheds more light on Butler’s shortcomings with regard to being a leader. Multiple reports during the season indicated that Butler’s relationship with his teammates is not very good, and that probably has a lot to do with the comments two Bulls front office executives made recently.
Butler has quickly emerged as one of the best players in the NBA, and the Bulls gave him a max contract last summer because of it. But if he doesn’t learn a thing or two about team chemistry, he might find that winning will become more challenging each year.
