Jimmy Butler elects to sign 5-year, $90 million deal with Bulls

Butler’s decision to sign a long-term deal comes after initial reports said he only seeking a short-term deal that would make him an unrestricted free agent in a few years when the salary cap exploded. But the Bulls made it difficult for Butler to get that contract without sacrificing a lot of money, so Butler settled for the fourth-year player option.

Butler bet on himself last offseason when he and the Bulls couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension, and he won big thanks to massive improvement that earned himself max money. Once it was apparent he deserved the max, Chicago made it clear it would match any offer and would be proactive in offering a five-year max deal.

Because Butler is a restricted free agent, his options are limited. Butler, like many free agents this summer, would rather sign for one or two years with an additional player option, which offers flexibility and allows him to take advantage of next summer’s rising salary cap. However, Chicago has little to no incentive to offer him a short-term deal since he can’t sign anywhere else without Chicago allowing it. It’s in the Bulls’ best interest to lock him up long-term.

Now, the question is what type of deal Butler is able to negotiate, since Chicago is bringing him back one way or another. Because the Bulls submitted a max qualifying offer, the CBA dictates that any deal outside of Chicago that Butler signs must be at least three guaranteed years. While he can sign with another team and force the Bulls to match that, he has already postponed his free agency meetings with teams, indicating he might not even try that approach.

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported that signing a three-year maximum offer sheet with a third-year player option with the Lakers was an intriguing option for Butler, but the Bulls eliminated that possibility by submitting a maximum qualifying offer. This requires that an offer sheet signed with another team must be at least three guaranteed years. It’s the first time a team has ever taken advantage of this provision, which is essentially a declaration that they will pay a full five-year maximum contract should Butler want it.

While Chicago limited Butler’s options with this move, the 2014-15 Most Improved Player of the Year still has several choices.