Next Tuesday night, the ping-pong balls will be bouncing for the NBA Draft Lottery, and Jimmy Butler will be right in the middle of it.
That’s who Chicago is sending to represent the team on the dais, reports C.J. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. I don’t know that this will squelch the Butler trade rumors, not after GM Gar Forman said that everything must be on the table this summer (even though the team has since brushed off teams that have called about a trade), but it can be read as some sign of commitment.
The Bulls have the longest odds in the lottery, a 0.005 percent chance of landing the top pick. They have a 0.018 chance of jumping into the top three. The guy representing the team on the stage has no control over any of this anyway. Meaning Butler is there as window dressing.
Still it is a sign that at an event about building teams for the future the Bulls want Butler as their face.
