Butler seems like redundant part for Pacers
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
The Pacers are giving Rasual Butler a chance to get back into the Association.
But why?
One way to look at signing Butler for the minimum is they’ll have some insurance in case increasingly brittle Danny Granger gets hurt. Butler may be paid cheaply, and he could have value as an elder statesman. But what are Solomon Hill and Orlando Johnson if not occasional rotation players?
The depth behind Granger, Paul George and Lance Stephenson was not a concern, not with Chris Copeland able to play small forward and Hill and Johnson being talked up as contributors.
Yet here is Butler, an end-of-roster pickup. I’m skeptical that he’s still an NBA player. Butler has had a rough three years, with anemic NBA production during that time, and is near the end of the line. If he plays at all it’s a strong sign that Indy’s injury luck has run out.
What does Butler provide that the Pacers lack? More to the point, what can Butler contribute – besides defensive experience – that Johnson can’t? We’ll see if Butler sticks. He has practically no value anymore.
Butler is a standstill shooter with middling efficiency. He can’t put it on the floor. Can’t pass. Can’t create a shot. Can’t get to the line. Even though he’ll knock down a 3 every now and then, he’s an offensive albatross. Both the 2010-11 Clippers and 2011-12 Raptors scored at least 10 points per 100 possessions less with him on the court. That’s not a misprint. In those two seasons – Butler’s most recent in the NBA – he finished 66th of 66 small forwards and 67th of 68 small forwards in player efficiency rating.
And, even though he’s tall, Butler is poor on the glass, with a career rebound rate lower than Erick Strickland’s.
It’s not as if the agreement carries risk. The contract is non-guaranteed. If Butler makes the Pacers’ roster out of training camp, it’ll be an as-you-go scenario. If he isn’t needed or stinks, then they can just cut him loose at any time. Given recent evidence, however, is Butler even worth the time? At 34, his is about up. Over Butler’s last 81 NBA games, he made only 32.4 percent from the floor.
From afar, he seems a decent guy. So you know, Butler has a daughter named Raven, enjoys reading the Bible and was a communications major at La Salle. A happy ending would be nice. But the preceding chapters were too miserable to expect one.
