CHICAGO -- Jimmy Butler wore a big smile on his face throughout most of Friday.The two-time All-Star beamed as future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade held his introductory news conference with the Chicago Bulls earlier in the day and made it abundantly clear that he was joining Butlers team. A few hours later, Butler would get a big ovation as the first player introduced for U.S. mens basketball team in its 80-45 rout over Venezuela. The fact that the 26-year-old shot only 2-for-8 from the field and scored only four points wasnt a big deal in the grand scheme. The fact that Butler, who was the 30th pick in the 2011 draft, was playing on the Olympic team in his adopted hometown and will soon go to Rio to represent his country, is still almost too good to be true for the Bulls star.Growing up I never thought that I would get drafted in the NBA, Butler said. Be a starter for the Bulls. Let alone represent my country with some of the best players in the world. It means the world to me and I want to win. I dont want to say that I was a part of the USA team. I want to say that I was a part of the USA team and we won gold.Several times during his teams brief stay in his hometown of Chicago, U.S. mens basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been open about the fact that he didnt realize Butler had become this good of a player. Krzyzewski said he hadnt seen Butler actually play live in several years, but once he did recently he saw the development in his game that has made him such an integral part of what the Bulls do in the future and Team USA does in the short term.Obviously hes one of the best players in the NBA, Krzyzewski said. But hes easy to play with and hes extremely versatile. I had not seen him in person for a long time so Im amazed at how much athletic ability and versatility [he has]. He can guard 1-5 and thats a huge plus for our team.U.S. mens basketball assistant Jim Boeheim had a more colorful take as to how Butler has ascended to so high in the basketball world.Hes a great testament to the bulls--- the NBA has, Boeheim told ESPN.com. [In that] you got to be good right away, or a freshman in college. He wasnt even good when we played him until his senior year I think. And hes gotten better and better every year which is what guys do. And if you get a chance -- you get him or Draymond Green, they become the best players in the game. Give them a chance. Theres other guys like that that never get a chance. He just keeps getting better, he brings so much energy to the court, hes so physical, he can go get the ball. ... Jimmys been great, hes great, I just appreciate -- I remember playing against him and seeing him develop in college. And then to see his development now, its a great story.Butlers unlikely path to the NBA has been well-documented and its what has helped draw some of his U.S. teammates even closer to him as they push closer to the Rio Games.Im a huge fan of Jimmys, U.S. point guard Kyrie Irving said. Watching what he did for Chicago, really putting the team on his back, really propelled him into being a great NBA player now. And the story behind him, too, I mean you have no choice but to respect it. So what hes come from, what hes endured, his adversity and hes just an even better person so I just enjoy being around him.Team USA stalwart Carmelo Anthony echoed those sentiments. Butler has built a name brand for himself in Chicago as one of the best two-way players in the league, but now he has to be a defensive force off the bench for a stacked American group that is intent on defending its basketball crown.Im not surprised, Anthony said of Butlers development. He works hard, man. Jimmys a workaholic. Hes in the gym all the time. Hes working; working on his game, working on his body. Hes getting the reps in the game, now hes one of the premier guys on the Chicago Bulls, a go-to guy on that team. With his confidence and his work ethic its going to continue to grow.Butler is admittedly still trying to grow into his role as the leader of the Bulls, but on the U.S. mens basketball team hes just another guy trying to fit into a group overflowing with basketball riches. Its another chapter in what is one of the most interesting basketball stories ever known.I just want to win, Butler said. In a Chicago Bulls uniform, in a USA uniform, thats what Ive always been about. All the individual stuff never really mattered. This is like home for me now, Im glad that I got to play here for USA in front of my hometown crowd. Theyve embraced since day one, I hope they continue to do so. I want to win with the Bulls and I want to win with USA and bring a championship with the Bulls and a gold medal here. Sandy Koufax Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Max Muncy Jersey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. http://www.dodgerssale.com/dodgers-kenley-jansen-jersey/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Rich Hill Jersey . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Mike Piazza Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51.Neil Robertson became the fifth former champion to exit the World Championship as he lost 10-6 to Michael Holt on Tuesday. The first round claimed another major scalp as 2010 winner Robertson bowed out despite scoring two centuries in the morning session.Holt matched that feat and more, posting the tournaments highest break of 140 as he went into the evening 6-3 ahead before opening a 9-4 advantage. The Australian briefly threatened to mount a comeback as he won back-to-back frames for 9-6, but a 65 break helped Holt close out the maatch and set up a meeting with Mark Williams.ddddddddddddFour previous winners - Graeme Dott, Peter Ebdon, Shaun Murphy and current holder Stuart Bingham - had already fallen to first-round exits, but 2014 champion Mark Selby ground out a 10-6 win over Robert Milkins on Tuesday.And four-time winner John Higgins will meet Ricky Walden in the second round after a comfortable 10-3 victory over Ryan Day. Also See: Baird into round two Rocket warned over no-show ' ' '