A day after Vlade Divac told the media that the Sacramento Kings were in no rush to add more free agents, naturally the Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations agreed to terms with Caron Butler.
The 35-year-old is the second-oldest NBA player to sign with a new team so far this summer, and the oldest free agent to join the Kings since Tony Massenburg in 2003. Wings at Butler’s age who depend on quick moments aren’t exactly hot commodities, so the timing of the move is interesting. Divac clearly sensed a need to recruit him sooner rather than later, despite an abundance of forwards left on the market.
Butler’s addition will make him the fifth free agent to commit to the Kings in July. To read about Rajon Rondo and Marco Belinelli’s fits with the team, click here. For Kosta Koufos and Omri Casspi’s potential roles, click here. The quintet will collect $27 million in salary for the 2015-16 season, and the Kings roster now stands at 14 players.
Caron Butler – 2 years/$3 million
Value: Needed outside shooter and mature leader.
Back in the day when he was a perennial East All-Star candidate, Butler’s game was a different animal.
The 10th pick of the 2002 draft made a living with drives and initiating contact, while displaying strong on-ball defense on the other end. Early in his career, Butler was a solid mid-range scorer, but his aim from downtown was spotty. His first eight seasons the small forward was a 31.8 percent shooter from behind the arc.
Then in 2010 when Butler turned 30, he made a concerted effort to expand his range. Doing his damage from the corners, the small forward shot a career-high 43.1 percent on 3’s before a torn left ACL shelved him after 29 games. Butler pulled off a comeback with the Clippers, and since winning his championship on the 2010-11 Dallas squad his 3-point accuracy has never dipped to pre-30 levels. (And that’s how a sharpshooter was born.)
The 2015 version of Butler will aid a Kings team desperate for floor spreaders, though anything inside the arc will be a bonus. He’s still equipped with an effective mid-range, pull-up and post game, but the former slasher has connected on less than 41 percent of his total field goal attempts the past two seasons.
Butler’s dependability as a stopper has waned, as the 6-foot-7, 220-pounder’s effectiveness on the perimeter has graded out to slightly below league average for the last few years. He was particularly awful guarding assignments within six feet of the hoop last season, allowing 14.8 percent more baskets than usual.
Factor in his shrinking rebounds and assists, and Butler is a barely a rotation player. Which forward spot Rudy Gay will man is important, but ideally with Casspi and Belinelli in the fold, the injury-prone Butler logs less than 20 minutes a game for the first time in his career.
Fortunately for everyone involved, there’s more to basketball than numbers. Butler’s worth will be felt most at practice and off the court when sharing his 13 years of NBA experience. The veteran should be particularly handy coaching off guard Ben McLemore, as the 2013 lottery pick incorporates the elder’s tricks in his ascension to stardom. Butler will also be a voice to quell any tension in the Kings’ locker room.
Final Analysis
At such a relatively cheap price, the former All-Star’s positives outweigh the numerous negatives for a rebuilding team on the upswing. Butler wants to ride into the sunset in a role similar to Richard Jefferson’s in recent seasons, which is fine by an organization that’s struggled to recruit older free agents.
The signing of Butler is a surprise, but what he gives you is well established. 3-pointers and savvy leadership, qualities that are in demand in Sacramento.
*Statistics courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
