Uh oh, here we go. I was wondering when free agents this year would actually think smart and think about the revised salary cap that will happen next year. Think about a player getting a max deal today, alright now double it. The max deal today will be next year’s chump change.
And the first player to notice this is Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, even though the Bulls want to lock him up for a 5-year deal, Butler is looking for something short term. With the Los Angeles Lakers being the potential frontrunners for that type of deal.
As the NBA’s salary cap is set to dramatically rise beginning with the 2016-17 season, Butler has become far less interested in locking himself into the five-year, $90 million-plus deal the Bulls are expected to present him on July 1, league sources said.
As Butler spends time in Los Angeles this summer, a stretch that’s included an overseas “Entourage” promotional jaunt with producer Mark Wahlberg, Butler’s intrigue with signing a potential Los Angeles Lakers offer sheet has increased, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Butler has preliminary plans to pursue meetings with several teams once free agency starts in July, sources said. Several teams pursuing Butler told Yahoo Sports that they’re under the impression a short-term, max money offer sheet is the wisest way to approach Butler this summer.
This is going to be very, very interesting indeed. Because we now know that Butler and the Bulls are literally world’s apart. Butler wants short term, Bulls want long term.
Expect battles to commence.
