SAN FRANCISCO — Jimmy Butler doesn’t want Dwyane Wade going anywhere this season, and he doesn’t want Wade opting out of his contract and playing elsewhere next season. If it’s up to Butler, the Bulls should extend Wade for a few more years.
“All I know is I want him being my teammate for a long time,” Butler said. “I’ve learned so much already. He makes my job easier and the jobs of everyone else in here easier. As long as he keeps playing like he is now, keeps evolving, he should stay here, finish things out here.”
That’s not just Butler’s bromance with Wade talking. Even with Wade turning 35 a few weeks ago, Butler sees a player evolving with age, not just in games, but on the practice court.
“Like the [win Monday night against the Sacramento Kings], I was telling him late, ‘This is what they’re doing,’ ” Butler says. “He knows it, but I also know what he’s been working on and how he can beat it. We work on all of that when we go to the gym together. People don’t see how much he and I are in the gym working on simple things to evolve our games. The moves he takes late in games are never a bad shot because we work on those in practice every single day. And he’s not stopping.”
That often wasn’t the case with Derrick Rose in previous seasons. As one source put it, “What Derrick considered a hard day’s work, Jimmy saw it as just his warm-up.”
Like Rose, Wade doesn’t practice with the team very often, but Wade works out privately with Butler and also has earned the benefit of the doubt with three NBA championship rings.
“He’s a guy that can play as long as he wants,” Butler said. “He’s willing to transform his game. He takes care of his body.’’
And when called upon, as he was in the Monday’s victory, Wade can still put up the points. He finished with 31 against the Kings, including the final five of the game.
How has he evolved this season?
“One thing I added is, I go right better,’’ Wade said. “Normally I would always go left. I really worked hard on going right to be comfortable. I think I’m actually shooting better this year going right than going left.
“You always want to learn. The game changes so fast in this league, you always want to still be around and still be effective. I’m 35 — that’s true. By basketball standards, I’m considered old — that’s true. I’m not as athletic as I used to be — that’s true. But I play basketball. I know it’s different. It’s a different game for me. Some nights, it’s like I’m in my prime. I’m a different player. Not as young as I used to be. But just as I told the [Sacramento] crowd when they were calling me old, they’d love to have me on their team.”
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Email: jcowley@suntimes.com
