Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose Feuding Again?

The drama involving Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler has long died down but it seems a new report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times could be re-igniting the friction which both players have downplayed since the offseason.

Despite their claims, not to many believe that all is well between D-Rose and rising star Butler. The whole issue originates from that game 6 Eastern Conference Finals matchup which the Bulls lost to the eventual NBA runner-up Cleveland Cavaliers.

Throughout the offseason, both have been in the radar of many to determine the real score. In fact it went as far as possibly seeing Butler jump ship.

That never happened and instead, the Bulls applied a lock on Butler by offering him a $95 million contract spread over five years.

On the other end, Derrick Rose is entering the final two years of his contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2017. He is set to make $20 million this year and $21 million in 2016.

So what is the new beef alleged by Cowley?

Well according to his report, Butler is reportedly unhappy with the effort that Rose has been putting in at practice. The two are indeed good friends off the court but apparently the source quoted in the report has singled out the tension developing within the Bulls camp.

So is Butler pushing himself a bit by questioning the dedication and effort that Rose has been putting in during practice? Or has the 26-year-old player gone a bit overboard by taking notice of Rose (and perhaps other players) in the Bulls workouts?

Whatever it is and if such is true, the whole thing does not speak well for the Bulls heading into the season. The last thing that the boys of Fred Hoiberg needs is conflict within though such was expected since word of that friction from last season came out.

However, his rant could be because of the work ethic that Butler has been putting into the team’s preparations for the coming season.

“I’m telling you, the amount of work he puts in … even during two-a-days, he would still come in a third time,’’ coach Fred Hoiberg said of Butler. “I mean the guys is unbelievable how much energy he has. He’s just so dedicated to putting the right things in his body, his training, and he wants to continue to add to his game every year. I take my hat off to him. It’s been fun to see everything he’s been able to do out there on the floor.’’

Understandably, Butler wants to prove his worth and show he is determined to help the ballclub succeed. Being vocal is a good think but as everyone knows, it would be best to do all that through the things he can do on the basketball court.

Rose has been doing that for so many years now and has been known to be quiet.

Mixing both a vocal Butler and a silent Rose could be good for the team heading into the season, just as long as it doesn’t go beyond that and explode into something that Bulls will pay very dearly for.

But again, Butler points out that there is nothing brewing between him and Rose.

“I don’t understand why everybody wants to find a problem with me and Derrick,” Butler said via the Chicago Tribune. “Let us be the fierce (expletive) competitors that we are (and) just let us play together. There’s nothing going on.”