A few weeks ago at the trade deadline, it looked like Jimmy Butler was on his way to Boston, but the two teams weren’t able to come to agreement on a deal. The Bulls did send away Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, however, and since then, the team has floundered. They’ve lost their last five games and are just 3-6 since the deadline.

Still, as he reiterated in an interview with ESPN’s Sam Alipour, Jimmy Butler wants to finish his career in Chicago.

Do you hope to finish your career with the Bulls? Yes. I can’t see what tomorrow will bring, but I love it here. You know, they took a risk on a kid that was not very good with the 30th pick in the 2011 draft, so I feel like I owe the city the little amount of talent that I have on that basketball court. I love it here. I love these people. I want to be here.

Butler’s contract runs through the 2018-19 season, with a player option for 2019-20, so the Marquette product won’t be able to leave via free agency anytime soon. However, given the reports at this trade deadline, and the lack of young talent alongside him, the Bulls may decide to move Butler if they can get what they believe is a reasonable haul.

If they decide to keep him, however, they’ll be secure in knowing Chicago is where, at least for now, Butler wants to be.