Jimmy Butler participated in the walkthrough portion of the Bulls’ morning shootaround at Golden 1 Center and is a game-time decision for Monday night’s game against the Kings.
Butler said the right heel contusion he suffered last Wednesday in Oklahoma City and sidelined him last Friday in Houston is still painful.
"If I feel like I’m going to hurt this team I’m not going to go because I’m going to play the same way I always play, being aggressive on both ends of the floor," Butler said. "If I can’t then somebody else will have to fill that void."
Coach Fred Hoiberg said Michael Carter-Williams would start for Butler alongside Jerian Grant if Butler misses a second straight game.
The Bulls are 1-1 on their six-game trip and sit seventh in the Eastern Conference. Some separation has occurred in the conference, with the Bulls trailing the fifth-place Hawks by five games and leading the ninth-place Hornets by two games.
This led to questions about whether the Bulls should be buyers or sellers at the Feb. 23 trade deadline.
Butler said it doesn’t bother him that management hasn’t come to him and told him he’s off-limits and that he doesn’t get involved in personnel decisions.
"I don’t move guys. That’s not me," Butler said. "So whatever they decide to do as an organization, us an organization, we’re all living with that and we’re all riding with that. We all still have to go out there and try to win no matter the situation we’re put in or the people they put here."
Does it surprise Butler that, despite three straight All-Star selections, there’s a perception around the league that he’s available for the right price?
"Nothing surprises me nowadays. You know that. I’m not surprised by anything. Anything is possible," he said. "It’s a business at the end of the day. I love it here. They know that. The city knows that."
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