Talks on a contract extension for Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler ended without a deadline deal on Friday, agent Happy Walters told Yahoo Sports.
Butler rejected the Bulls’ final offer on Friday morning and plans to enter into restricted free agency in July.
“It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself,” Butler told Yahoo Sports in a text message on Friday. “It was about me believing that I put the work in this summer to become a better player with the hope that my improvement will give the Bulls a better chance to win a championship.”The sides still have until midnight EST on Friday to reach agreement on a 2011 draft class rookie extension, but Bulls officials expressed to Butler and his reps at Relativity Media, Walters and Steve McCaskill, that they made their final offer earlier on Monday.The Bulls will have the chance to match an offer sheet and retain Butler next summer, but looming is the threat of a rival believing that it can extract Butler with a steep offer that threatens the Bulls’ payroll structure. Teams could include a player option on a three-year deal that would allow Butler to become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment