Jimmy Butler invited to USA basketball minicamp: report

Jimmy Butler's breakout season didn't just net him a $92 million contract. It caught the attention of USA Basketball.

Butler will be invited to next month's minicamp in Las Vegas, according to an ESPN.com report. The team that will represent the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be culled from the minicamp.

Tom Thibodeau is an assistant coach for Duke's Mike Krzyzewski in the program.

- See more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...mmy-butler-usa-basketball-20150715-story.html

 

No Paul George II!

 

Looks like Spain is going with Niko for the European Championships instead of Ibaka.

From eurobasket2015.org via NewsOK:

 

Thibs and Butler has been a winning combination in the past. Now it might be golden!

Great honor for Jimmy.

Is DRose part of the team for sure? Would be awkward if Jimmy is on the squad and Rose isn't, when its time to determine who "the man" is on the Bulls.

 

Thibs is one of a couple of assistants.

Nothing special here.

 

And Jimmy will likely be a bench player, if he makes the team.

I'm sure it would still be special for Jimmy and of course an honor.

The same for Thibs. Its an honor to be a Team US A coach.

 

Everyone else was probably busy.

 

Right, just like Coach K and Jim Boeheim.

Or the past 2 years he has been selected to be coach.....

 

Hopefully we'll see Jimmy in a similar picture soon.



And hopefully Derrick is good enough to still make the team...

 

Exactly. No Pops, no Phil Jackson.

Just college guys.


(seriously - why isn't a decorated coach from the highest levels in the game with a stellar five year record...head coach of that team?)

 

Thibs is one of the best NBA coaches around, but he's not Coach K.

 

Fascinating admission!

 

Jimmy already has some nice gold. But a gold medal like Rose and Thibs have would be even sweeter.

 

Would you have been upset if Thibs had been canned for coach K?

 

I was more upset about the distracting smear job during a "win now" season where the Bulls were a whisper away from getting to the NBA Finals.

At some point, a NBA team changes coaches. The way Paxson and the Bulls conducted their business last season was unforgivable. Of course, Paxson is the same guy who physically attacked the previous coach, so you can't really expect much good from the guy.

Any college coach has a difficult adjustment when coming to the NBA. Coach K of course is a far more accomplished coach than Hoiberg, so at least he has a track record of success. Of course, its all in NCAA, which is of questionable use for the NBA.

 

Finally.

 

For a "win now" core though, it sure as hell better be an improvement.

We'll see this season how the move plays out. A rookie with no track record of NBA success is an interesting choice. We'll see if he's Steve Kerr or a Joe Average coach like Del Negro soon enough. Hopefully he's not terrible.

 

Define what that phrase means to you.

 

A team that is optimized to win the NBA championship in the short term.

 

A team with their window open, then?