Hardy, asked early in training camp what he has seeing from Butler as a player, offered a somewhat tepid response that focused more on personality traits than on-court proclivities. He had needed to show improved shooting, better command of the offense, and to eliminate his penchant for overdribbling.Īpparently, he did not show enough for the liking of the coaching staff and front office. With Hardy showing an affinity for bigger lineups, and with Conley and Sexton firmly entrenched in the rotation (barring a trade for the former), Butler was in a precarious position. In the end, though, not different enough. And yeah, so it’s obviously just different.” “But I think this year it’s getting guys organized, making sure we’re calling plays that fit the right scenario during the time of the game. I mean, honestly, I didn’t get a lot of opportunity to kind of play long stints, so it’s kind of really hard to say what exactly they needed from me at different times,” Butler said. “Last year, it was kind of like a fill the gap of what does a team need. He expressed hopefulness about his future, having been given a more defined role. His rough performances in the SLC and Las Vegas summer leagues, respectively, followed by a lack of playing time in the team’s first couple of preseason games indicated his spot on the roster bubble however, his quality play in the Jazz’s intra-squad scrimmage a week ago, and then again in Tuesday’s preseason loss to the Spurs (where he tallied 13 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block) seemed to indicate that he might be the most talented of the players on the back end of the roster. With Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson now joined by Sexton, Malik Beasley, Talen Horton-Tucker, and wings Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Ochai Agbaji, and Leandro Bolmaro, suddenly Butler’s position was increasingly tenuous. The Donovan Mitchell trade to Cleveland brought back another undersized guard in Collin Sexton, too, further complicating matters. With new coach Will Hardy in place for 2022-23, Butler (who was in the final year of his contract) hoped for a fresh start, but the trade that sent Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves brought back multiple players capable of playing the guard position, thus making his pathway to a roster spot all the more difficult. He was ultimately cleared by doctors, but never could crack former coach Quin Snyder’s rotation in his rookie season - appearing in just 42 games, and averaging 3.8 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 40.4% from the field and just 31.8% from 3-point range. The 6-foot-3 guard had been considered a one-time consensus mid-first-round prospect, but he slid on draft night owing to questions about a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. While Zeller being cut was seen as a foregone conclusion, given that he was signed only to a nonguaranteed training camp deal, Butler’s release is a bit more controversial.Ī year ago, the Jazz traded out of their first-round pick and into the second to select Butler, who had been the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after leading Baylor to the national championship.
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