Jimmy Butler draws ire of his Chicago Bulls teammates

As the season comes to a merciful end, stories about the Chicago Bulls‘ dysfunction start to come out. Reports are that Jimmy Butler received special treatment, according to his teammates.

The Chicago Bulls’ 2015 season mercifully comes to an end on Wednesday night. It has been a frustrating, irritating season filled with wins against good teams, losses against really bad teams, injuries and erratic play.

When the season ended in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, there was a lot of reports of dysfunction. The coach’s relationship with the front office was fractured beyond repair. He was fired shortly after the season ended.

There were also reports about a schism between guards Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.

This season, some word of dysfunction are again starting to trickle out.

While Pau Gasol questioned the team’s heart last week, word was that coach Fred Hoiberg was already looking for the end because he felt GASOL was the one who was doing what he accused his teammates of doing.

The newest report is something that was whispered around the Bulls throughout the season. It centers around Jimmy Butler and a different attitude he’s had since he signed a max contract.

On Sunday, after the Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention, Butler did not fly with his teammates to New Orleans before their game against the Pelicans the next day.

According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, that angered some of Butler’s teammates.

"Some players, and I’m not saying it wasn’t a family commitment, but there were some – I know at least one player in particular, a starter – who felt like he was a bit bothered by the fact that Jimmy wasn’t on the plane. And it was a misperception. He felt it was emblematic of a little bit of the preferential treatment that a lot of people say Butler’s been getting now that he’s emerged as the best player on the Bulls from the front office and things like that.There’s a division. There’s all types of dysfunction in Chicago. There’s kind of a division in that locker room.The younger players see Butler as the leader. He’s clearly been their best player the last two years. They see him as the leader. The other guys, the veterans who’ve been there, it’s not so much of disrespect of Jimmy, but they don’t see him as the team leader. They remember when you were averaging two points a game.Hoiberg said the travel was approved, but the reason he had to fly separately was not clear to the rest of the team. It could have been a family reason, but it was not serious enough for him to miss the game.ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell spoke about the feelings that some of Jimmy Butler’s teammates did not really see him as a leader, and that they felt he changed from the guy who said he was just a role player.I don’t think that the tension between Jimmy and Derrick was ever as bad as it was made out to be. But the tension now, moving forward off the Derrick talk for a second, between Jimmy and other players in that locker room is bad.Because you can’t just say, “I signed this new deal. I’m the leader.” That respect has to be earned over time. Nobody is questioning Jimmy’s work ethic. He’s worked his tail off. But they are questioning whether Jimmy can be the leader that this group needs with so much turmoil going on around them.You talk to anybody within that Bulls organization, and they’ll tell you that Jimmy has changed. His personality has changed.It doesn’t help when Butler says things like he feels he is a point guard, when he damn well knows who the Chicago Bulls point guard is (whether it stays that way is another story). More from Da Windy CityJuan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to NashvilleChicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agencyThe Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei OhtaniChicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidatesA lot of this could be jealousy, of course. Butler came from being an unknown to one of the stars of the NBA, and that can rub some players the wrong way.On the other hand, Butler needs to own up to the fact that he is at least partly responsible for some of the bad feelings. He has not handled his new-found status very well. You cannot just go from one of the guys and then jump all over them and DECLARE YOURSELF the leader and that the players should follow him. Leadership is more about actions than words.It can be difficult to be in the situation Butler finds himself in, however. As he is in the spotlight more, he will handle things better. He and Rose are already going to begin to fix things by training together this offseason.Next: Chicago Bulls 2015: What Went Wrong?Hopefully, this season is just a blip on the screen and later we look back on this and chuckle. There is too much good history with this franchise to let the dysfunction continue.Published on 04/13/2016 at 11:13 AM CSTLast updated on 04/13/2016 at 11:17 AM CST Some players, and I’m not saying it wasn’t a family commitment, but there were some – I know at least one player in particular, a starter – who felt like he was a bit bothered by the fact that Jimmy wasn’t on the plane. And it was a misperception. He felt it was emblematic of a little bit of the preferential treatment that a lot of people say Butler’s been getting now that he’s emerged as the best player on the Bulls from the front office and things like that.There’s a division. There’s all types of dysfunction in Chicago. There’s kind of a division in that locker room.The younger players see Butler as the leader. He’s clearly been their best player the last two years. They see him as the leader. The other guys, the veterans who’ve been there, it’s not so much of disrespect of Jimmy, but they don’t see him as the team leader. They remember when you were averaging two points a game.I don’t think that the tension between Jimmy and Derrick was ever as bad as it was made out to be. But the tension now, moving forward off the Derrick talk for a second, between Jimmy and other players in that locker room is bad.Because you can’t just say, “I signed this new deal. I’m the leader.” That respect has to be earned over time. Nobody is questioning Jimmy’s work ethic. He’s worked his tail off. But they are questioning whether Jimmy can be the leader that this group needs with so much turmoil going on around them.You talk to anybody within that Bulls organization, and they’ll tell you that Jimmy has changed. His personality has changed."