Big time players make big time plays. Today’s #BullsSeasonRewind features Jimmy Butler pic.twitter.com/Q0QA5M7hDA
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) May 8, 2017
June 23 (UPI) -- Three-time All-Star Jimmy Butler was enjoying fashion week in Europe when he found out he had been traded. On Friday he said goodbye to the Chicago Bulls.
Butler joined the Bulls as the No. 30 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He played six seasons in Chicago, posting 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He averaged a career-high 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists in his final season with the franchise.
The Tomball, Texas native attended Marquette University.
He was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, along with the No. 16 overall pick, for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the No. 7 overall selection.
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"What can I say?! I truly struggle with the words because you've been so much more than just my home for the last 6 years; you've been my life! You've embraced me like a son and pushed me to get better every day, every season," Butler wrote Friday on Instagram.
"I can honestly say that I have always been incredibly motivated to succeed; it's just the way I'm built. But I know I owe so much to the person I am now, and to the player that I've become, to you.
Advertisement"You always pushed me to never give anything less than my absolute best night in, night out. That's what you expected. That's what you deserved. And, I hope you know that's what I dedicated my life to every time I walked into the facility or stepped on the floor of the United Center.
"Thank you to the entire Bulls organization and Reinsdorf Family for taking a chance on me in 2011 and for giving me the opportunity to play the sport I love for such a great franchise. I'll never forget the feeling I had when I was drafted and when I played my first minutes. It's an experience that I wouldn't have wanted with any other team and I'm so thankful to you for giving me that opportunity.
"Chicago, I love you. Thanks for embracing a kid from Tomball like one of your own. On to a new home and a new organization. Thankfully, with some familiar faces! P.S. AND PROBABLY MOST IMPORTANT! THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY BEHIND THE ORGANIZATION THAT DO NOT GET THE SHINE THAT THEY DESERVE!! YALL ARE THE REAL ALL-STARS!! - Jimmy G. Buckets."
The Bulls acquired Arizona's smooth-shooting big-man Lauri Markkanen with the draft selection it received from the Timberwolves in the Butler trade.
Butler played four seasons with the Bulls under current Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau.
