Jimmy Butler on trade rumors: 'I don't plan on going anywhere'

Jimmy Butler, the Chicago Bulls leading scorer, says if he had his way, he would stay in Chicago for a long time.

"I don't plan on going anywhere," he told ESPN after a 103-100 win against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. "I can't control what everybody else does. I know that this is the city that I love, Chicago. And I want to wear that jersey. I want to wear that name on the front, and I wear it proudly. All I got to do is continue to control what I can control. That's try to help this team win games."

Butler— currently in his fifth season in the NBA — was drafted 30th overall by the Bulls in 2011, and has been a pivotal part of the team's success ever since.

"To tell you the truth, I don't pay attention to the rumors," he said, per ESPN. "Somebody sent (the trade rumor story) to me today, and I just clicked off of it. I mean, why am I getting in (to speculation)? I can't control it. I can't say don't do this or don't do that. That's not my job. If I do what I'm supposed to do on the floor, then everything else takes care of itself. I'm a firm believer in that."

As far as on-court performance is concerned, Butler has certainly done his part, leading the Bulls in scoring (21.0 point per game), steals (1.7), and minutes (37.1) this season. But despite his high level of play, the Bulls sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Indiana Pacers with seven games left on the schedule. Once preseason favorites to be one of the top teams in the East, they have been plagued by injuries, and a postseason absence would be their first in seven seasons.

"When you win games, everything takes care of everything," he told ESPN. "Like I've always said, whenever you're losing, that's when everybody wants to talk. But when you're winning, everything's fine. So my job is to win games for the Chicago Bulls."

Bulls first-year coach Fred Hoiberg shut down the Butler trade rumors as well.

"I haven't heard anything about [the report]," he said, per ESPN. "But again, I don't read a lot right now. I think Jimmy and I have a really good relationship right now. I've been communicating a lot with him. Since he had the [knee injury in early February] and has come back, we've really limited his time. He hasn't done much in shootaround just to try and save his legs for the game. I obviously think the world of him for how hard he pushes himself and how much he's just improved his game over the years with his work ethic. I think that rubs off onto the other guys. So Jimmy absolutely is a very important part to this team."

The Bulls will take on the seventh-seeded Detroit Pistons on Saturday night in a pivotal game for their postseason hopes.

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