John Paxson gives his take on the state of the Chicago Bulls
The impact of bringing Wade home
“The thing I’ve been most impressed with is he’s just professional in his approach and his attitude. He knows how to prepare himself. At this stage of his career, he knows what he can and can’t do. We’re trying to watch him carefully to make sure
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he doesn’t break down, but he takes very good care of himself. He’s right around that 30-minute mark a game for us, which is what we had intended for him.
He’s been really good for us, and he’s been good for, taking some of the pressure off Jimmy just in terms of having to speak all the time and be the voice. I think that’s helped. They’ve formed a very nice bond together. You see them before games, they have a routine of shooting together and things like that.
“He’s been really good for us, and he’s been good for, taking some of the pressure off Jimmy just in terms of having to speak all the time and be the voice. I think that’s helped. They’ve formed a very nice bond together. You see them before games, they have a routine of shooting together and things like that.”
Apart from the impact the future Hall of Famer Wade has on the court, he’s been great off the court as well. It’s especially true for Butler. Wade allows Butler to take some time off from speaking to the press so much. Speaking so much to them is what got him into some trouble last season. He said some things that rubbed his teammates (notably Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol) the wrong way. He also took shots at coach Fred Hoiberg, perhaps unintentionally.
Paxson spoke about almost trading Butler before the draft and going into a full rebuild. They were about to trade Butler to the Boston Celtics for the third pick. That pick would then be point guard Kris Dunn. He and the front office decided against it, opting to keep Butler.
Many criticized Butler for his handling of the sudden fame, but now Wade is there to help him out. Now, some of those same people are wondering why Butler needs the help, as this was something he wanted. Well, I can remind people that Michael Jordan had to learn to be the smooth media guy he was. He rubbed people the wrong way himself early in his career. Remember The Freeze Game? John Paxson and the Chicago Bulls traded away those who critical of Butler and handed him the team. Butler now has the advantage of having Wade help him out. So do the rest of his teammates.