Jimmy Butler is coming off a great season, but he's getting a little sick of the narrative. Butler has been hounded with questions about his relationship with Derrick Rose after a report surfaced last spring that there was tension between the two. It should be noted that Butler has a. said those reports are nonsense but b. has answered in ways that still seem strained. It's probably just word choice, but they've been weird.
For example, Butler said about the situation that the two are "fine" and that it was just that they "didn't win" last year. But the way the situation reads is that the two aren't great friends, but can play together fine. The problem is that everything is exacerbated when it's NBA stars. LeBron James and Kevin Love are a good example of two guys who didn't "click" but who worked out their issues this summer and Love re-signed. Rose is likely struggling with the fact he's no long the best player on the team and Butler is likely defensive of the fact that he now is that guy and has earned it.
One other interesting note from that Bulls feature where Butler commented on it, though. He was asked about his position, and his response was pretty interesting.
“First off, I think I am a point guard,” Butler said without joking. “So I’ve done a heck of a lot of ball screen work, ball handling, getting into the paint and still handling, floaters, all that stuff point guards do. If I get a chance, high pick and roll more. I want some triple doubles. I’ve got to get my handle right so I can pass and get it to guys where they can make shots. I told Fred. You ask what position I play, I say point guard.”
Source: Jimmy Butler continues to find inspiration for success | Chicago Bulls.
It's an interesting assessment, if only because Butler's game doesn't scream point guard. He took a lot of shots as a guard the past two seasons, but a lot of players do that. Does your shot selection determine your position? If we look at the natural but often flawed indicator of assist rate, Butler only averaged 4.4 assists per game, with an assist rate of 14.4. That puts him in line with Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, all good players but none point guards.
If we look at his play selection, however, it starts to make a little more sense. Butler spent 23 percent of his time in pick and roll situations including passes, the second most of any set behind transition opportunities, according to Synergy Sports. He was also really efficient in those situations, coming out in the 89th percentile when passing out. But even then, that percentage of time still ranks pitifully low compared to other point guards (consider Mike Conley at 62.5 percent of the time, or 63 percent for Jameer Nelson).
So Butler doesn't look like a point guard on paper, but a shooting guard with point guard skills. Much of when watching video is that Butler is methodical. He comes off the pick, looks for the scoring opportunity, then scans his options, often from a stopped position.
That's not to say that Butler's not good at passing on the move. He's just often looking to take on multiple defenders because a. he can still score and b. he's great at drawing contact. Watch him draw two defenders all the way baseline and then find Gibson for a quality spot-up mid-range shot.
Butler also had an extremely low turnover rate, on par with Kemba Walker and LaMarcus Aldridge, the second-lowest in fact among all guards and forwards playing at least 30 minutes per game. Butler was very considerate with the ball, converted scoring opportunities at a high rate (scoring 51.2 percent of the time via Synergy Sports) and didn't turn the ball over. He could play point, but it doesn't seem like a natural fit.
Much of that assessment, however, is based on what we've seen of Butler. He played with Rose last year, and has always played alongside another point guard the majority of the time. If given the full reins for that role, who knows how his game would adjust. I wouldn't call Butler a point guard as of now, but he has the skills that if in the right system it was made a priority, you can see the ability for him to make that transition. As always, it's not just what a player can do, it's what his team asks him to do.
One final note, given the contextual conversation about Butler and his relationship with Rose. Point guards want the ball in their hands, at almost all times. Rose had the ball 69.2 times per game in the half-court last year according to NBA.com. Butler had it just 48.3. That's the second most on the team, but still a significant gap. So if Butler thinks he's a point guard, and he's not getting the ball as often as Rose, that could be a point of contention. We'll have to see how Fred Hoiberg's system affects this, but for right now, it's clear that Butler might like to be more of a point guard.
For now, though, I'd stick with calling him a wing.
