Rasual Butler

[Leetonidas]

http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/rasual_butler.jpg

Position: F
Born: May 23, 1979
Height: 6-7 / 2,01
Weight: 205 lbs. / 93,0 kg.
College : La Salle


Is this the SF we've been looking for? He's an unrestricted free agent, same size as Bruce, athletic, can shoot the three, and he's only 27.

[greens]

Sounds good but 27 is already pushing closer to 30...I'd prefer we'd get someone in early twenties like 20-25 range...

[strangeweather]

So-so rebounder, occasional blocks and steals.

Two questions:

1. How good is he defensively?
2. How much will he cost? Will someone give him the full midlevel, or is he a lot cheaper?

[CharlieMac]

I have him. I hope he's a Keeper in the fantasy league here.

[El_Mago]

Butler is who I have as our future SF...

I would want Jarred Jeffries...at 6-10, who can play a bit of SG, SF, and PF out East, but he's restricted....although, there are rumblings that Washington might not match because of Jarvis and Caron at the SF already....

However, Butler won't command the full MLE, but he will command a portion. He is a good player on both sides of the court. His defense is above average, and as we know he can shoot the three.....he shot the three pretty well in NO where there is not a dominant player like Duncan who can spread out the floor, but then Duncan alone does not translate too great shooting...ala...Brent Barry.

He's young, he can be mentored by Bowen, and the Spurs defensive scheme can help him become a better defender....

I am all in favor of having him.

[Kori Ellis]

Butler is too short to be considered the long athletic forward they are looking for. Pop said they are looking for a guy who is 6'9/6'10.

[El_Mago]

Only guy out there at 6-10 who I would even consider as young, athletic, slashing, and able to rebound SF...is Jeffries.....we need to nab this guy.

[exstatic]

Only guy out there at 6-10 who I would even consider as young, athletic, slashing, and able to rebound SF...is Jeffries.....we need to nab this guy.
That's the only name. Pop/RC are notorious for bringing in non-name guys. Not a lot of fucking people had even heard of Bruce Bowen when Pop called him. Likewise Stephen Jackson.

[Bruno]

Not big enough, not a good defender and not a good rebounder : I don't think he fills our needs.

[timvp]

Rasual Butler would be decent but he wouldn't make a difference versus a team like Dallas or Phoenix.

Evolve or die.

[El_Mago]

I for one was excited when Bruce landed here from Miami.

He actually turned down less money to come here....I think people knew who Bowen was, but didn't know what to expect from him....I doubt they even knew he was a decent defender....he was brough in here to attempt to control Kobe Bryant because Bryant had killed us in the playoffs.

He was not driven around in a limo, thrown the red carpet, and had mariachi's playing for him like DA...which ended up being bad.

Steven Jackson was brought in here because the Spurs needed some youth at that position and he was a project. He was was a little raw when he got here, but once again playing under good coaches and along with good team mates made him all that better and gave him supreme confidence.

In Jeffries, people can recognize the name, but not many know his game because he plays out East....ala...Bruce. The Spurs are looking for length, speed, talent, rebounding, energy, and defense.

Jeffries shines in all those areas...with the exception of defense. Now, he is not a horrible defender nor a great one...he is average, but with coaching and good schemes he can become above average. His long arms, quickness, and length can cause fits for opposing players.

Jeffries has been inconsistent on the offensive side of the ball for the Wizards, but he had a great showing in the playoffs. A lot of that bad showing was because he barely got any minutes.....Caron was eating up a lot of minutes, but when he was injured....Jeffries came in and shined. He also played well in the playoffs, and played good D against LeBron James.

He can bloom here in SA.

[ducks]

Miller, who also represents Rasual Butler -- another of the Hornets' free agents -- said it's unlikely the 6-foot-7 forward will re-sign with the team. Butler led Hornets regulars in 3-pointers (92) and 3-point shooting percentage (38.0) last season.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2507787

[Please_dont_ban_me]

Not great defensively.

You saw that in his Heats game from 2 years back with D Wade. But he runs the floor well, is long, and has a very nice stroke all the way out the 3 point land. Not a bad guy. Kind of a rich man's ron mercer.

[Big P]

IMO it wouldn't be worth giving him a portion of the MLE.

[Quadzilla99]

ESPN Insider scouting report on him. Thisi going into the 2005-06 season:
__________________________________________________
Butler began the year in the starting lineup but quickly fell out of favor when he failed to impress and Damon Jones burst onto the scene. Butler later resurfaced in the playoffs and provided some solid minutes off the bench.

Butler is an adequate defender with fairly long arms, but his main weapon is his jump shot. He has a slow release combined with a high arc that's hard to block and can hit the shot with a hand in his face. As a result, he's effective shooting mid-range jumpers over smaller players in the post. He's also a 3-point weapon who hit 37 percent last year and 46 percent the year before.

Unfortunately, that torrid 2003-04 campaign is beginning to look like a fluke year. His other two pro seasons are extremely similar, with the middle year being the outlier. If that's the case his value is limited to occasional use off the bench, but he'll have plenty of chances to prove us wrong. Butler was traded to the Hornets after the season, where he could end up as the starting small forward in a depleted New Orleans lineup.

__________________________________________________ _
I would prefer him to Jeffries because he can shoot threes so at least he's not 100% useless offensively.

[Darkwaters]

Butler put a lot of emphasis on his offensive game last season. I was not really familiar with him until last season, so I don't know if that is just a result of last year's team...or his norm. Being the only legit shooter, I think Byron Scott put more emphasis on his offense last year.

Because he focused so much on offense though, the other aspects of his game suffered. When his shots weren't dropping Rasual was an amazing rebounder and his defense got quite intense. If the Spurs can simply have him focus on defense and nail the occasional 3, he could be solid.

[T Park]

Id definately bring him in.

A taught defender under Riley?

Long armed and can stroke the 3?


Bring it on...

[baseline bum]

That's the only name. Pop/RC are notorious for bringing in non-name guys. Not a lot of fucking people had even heard of Bruce Bowen when Pop called him. Likewise Stephen Jackson.

Bruce had a rep as a great defender and decent 3-point shooter in Miami. Before Riley he was a nobody to even the most hardcore of NBA fans, but he became pretty well known for his play for the Heat in 2000-01.

[timvp]

Rasual Butler is horrible. I don't understand why any Spurs fan would want them on this team. He's a poor rebounder. He's not a good defender. And worst of all, he's one of the worst passing players in the league. Per 48 minutes, he averaged one assist last season. One. Uno. That's worse than players like Rasho or Nazr who rarely have the ball ... and this is a guy who played guard a lot last season. 40 assists and 65 turnovers for the season is just gross.

No way I want this guy anywhere near San Antonio.

[T Park]

beggars cant be choosers

[timvp]

beggars cant be choosers

This beggar would rather have an empty roster spot than Rasual Butler. If you want a guy who all they can do is shoot, I'd sign Eric Piatkowski. At least he's not a 40% career shooter like Butler and has always *gasp* had more assists than turnovers in a season.

[MI21]

Butler is average at best. I'm not sure where these "athletic" statements are coming from. He is just average in that regards and a streaky 3pt shooter and just average defensively. Not what the Spurs need.


Bruce had a rep as a great defender and decent 3-point shooter in Miami. Before Riley he was a nobody to even the most hardcore of NBA fans, but he became pretty well known for his play for the Heat in 2000-01.

Yeah, people knew about Bruce. Portland offered him that multi-year deal worth around $9M from memory. I also recall Rick Pitino when he was coaching in Boston saying something along the lines of, "If Bruce can develop a shot, he will be a longtime player in this league". So he was somewhat known.

[ace3g]

Jazz Could Target Hornets' Butler


Deseret News - With Peja Stojakovic finding a new home in New Orleans, the Jazz may make a play for Hornet free agent Rasual Butler, the Deseret News is reporting.

The Jazz apparently would consider making an offer to 27-year-old Butler but only if they can't re-sign their own free-agent swingman, 30-year-old veteran Matt Harpring. Another possibility is Laker Deavan George, whose Laker days appear to have come to an end.

Harpring, meanwhile, continues to pursue a long-term contract and establish his open-market value.

Potential interest in Harpring from both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers could have dried up after the Lakers got forward Vladimir Radmanovic to agree Saturday to leave the Clippers and the Clippers responded by luring forward Tim Thomas from Phoenix.

But it's possible now that Indiana will show interest in Harpring. Phoenix, another potential suitor, could also use money saved by Thomas' departure to pursue Harpring.

Link (http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/41257/20060703/jazz_could_target_hornets_butler/)

[timvp]

Jazz Could Target Hornets' Butler

Link (http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/41257/20060703/jazz_could_target_hornets_butler/)

Makes sense.

The Jazz' scouts are perhaps the worst in the league.

[T Park]

We'll have to agree to disagree.

Cause hes the best the Spurs are gonna do this summer and for a while for a long 3.

[timvp]

He's not even long but whatever.

[T Park]

Jeffries is out of the realm.

Ariza? Doubtfull the Spurs are even CONSIDERING him at all.

I mean thats IT!

[Mr. Body]

Chucky Brown still around?

[Texas_Ranger]

I we can not get Jeffries or someone other than sign him, he is a good player.

[Quadzilla99]

Jeffries just might be the worst offensive player in the league today (10 points per 40 minutes oowee that stinks) and his defense is vastly overrated by people on this board. Did you know he has never even gotten even 1 vote for the All-Defensive team? Not even 1!! He's a decent defender with 0 offensive skills nothing more.

http://www.nba.com/news/alldefensive_060511.html (2005-06 0 votes)
http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/alldefensiveteam05.html (2004-05 0 votes)
http://www.nba.com/news/alldefensive_040426.html (2003-04 0 votes)
http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/NBA_Defensive_Player_of_the_Ye-74662-50.html (2002-03 0 votes) -(voting is conducted by the 30 NBA Head Coaches).

I'd take Butler over him anyday as he has offensive skills and won't force us to go 4 on 5 on offense. If Jeffries was an All-Defensive caliber defender then maybe his complete ineptness on offense could be forgiven. As you can see from the links above he's no closer to an NBA All-Defensive team than I am. As a matter of fact we have received the same number of votes in our lifetimes.