All eyes will be on Jimmy Butler for the coming season and most of the talk is on how he could coexist with Derrick Rose, seeing that both players fare well with the basketball on their hands.
That is, of course, when it comes to offense. When Rose was out, Butler stepped up and showed his scoring prowess. His point production was dramatically up and at some point Rose was no longer the talk of the town.
That all changed, of course, when Rose returned in the playoffs and it seems like both had a problem sharing the ball. To this day, vaunted memories of that game 6 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers are still in the air but such has been shot down time and again.
Heading into the 2015–16 NBA season, what changes could head coach Fred Hoiberg implement to get Butler and Rose humming and, of course, make the Bulls benefit?
On the offensive side, Butler has proven his capability. He can take inside or shoot it from the outside. The only issue (if any) here is how he and Rose can share the spheroid.
On the defensive end, Butler can do his share as well. He can take on the best player of the opposing team but doing so may take a toll on last year's Most Improved Player, which means his offensive production could take a severe hit.
So can he do a little bit of both?
With Rose back, such could be imminent but seeing that he was signed to a multi-year contract worth $95 million, the Bulls are looking for him to score a ton as well. Heading into the season, Butler may have to exert more effort since he is being paid more, although Rose may have to do some adjustments as well.
Rose, being the point guard, would need to do more setups for his teammates, Butler included. But seeing that Rose is a scorer as well, one has to wonder if the former Most Valuable Player will do more of playmaking than scoring for the Bulls this season.
