I don't know why no one has been talking about him, he just got the starting SF job over Al Thornton and many around the Clippers are saying it might be a permanent move. He didn't shoot well from the field in his first start, but you have to be encouraged that he has involved in the offense as much as he was (15FGA, 5-3PTA) and he was serviceable in filling out the auxiliary statistics (FT%, REB, STL, BLK, TO).

I like Butler this year if he can maintain that starting position spot, in February/March of last season when he was really playing heavy minutes and being involved in the offense in NO he put up very serviceable numbers:

FEB: 34MIN/46%FG/2-3PTM/14.3PPG/4.5RPG/.9TO/.7SPG/1BPG
MAR: 39MIN/42%FG/2-3PTM/14.5PPG/3.6RPG/.9TO/.5SPG/.8BPG

While he wasn't otherwordly, he does have an opportunity to repeat those numbers playing with LAC and should be a great source for PPG/3PTM/TO and pitch in here and there in RPG/SPG/BPG.

If you have a roster spot to burn, I say pick up Rasual Butler. He could be a mini-Rashard Lewis this season.

what ?

do you realize that he'll be the 5th/6th option on that team ??

Sure, but so is Rashard Lewis on ORL. Nobody is asking these type of shooters to create plays for themselves or their teammates, every successful team always has floor spacing to keep defenses honest...especially when you have a post presence that can legitimately score like Kaman can.

Butler was also the 4th option to score when he was in NO last season behind Chris Paul, David West, and Peja Stojakovic. He still put up the numbers that I referred to above while in this role. Consider that he isn't playing with CP3 to create shots for him anymore, but Baron Davis can still play-make and Kaman WILL require double teams as he has established that when healthy he can score at an extremely efficient rate.

He not a bad pickup, won't be a stud, but can fill out the 10th man on a roster role pretty well.

Rashard Lewis 4th/5th option with the Magic ???

since then ??

today ?



so do you really think he'll score 15 pts/game playing with Baron, Gordon, Griffin, Kaman, Thornton, Camby ?


good luck with that

Uhm, yes?

Dwight Howard - Hedo Turkoglu - Jameer Nelson - Rashard Lewis? Lewis was and still is nothing more than a glorified spot-up shooter. Today you just switch Turkoglu with Carter?




Why not? Thornton's presence is pretty much nullified considering if Butler remains the starting SF he would be in the game when Thornton is not and vice versa. Considering that Camby cannot create his own shot and Baron Davis is realizing that he is no longer in a "run-and-gun" system where he can chuck threes all day there are plenty of shots to go around in LA. Griffin at this point in his career will probably just be a hustle guy that finishes dunks, rebounds, and plays defense.

Besides Eric Gordon, the Clippers really don't have another knock-down 3PT shooter which is vital to a team to space the floor and give Kaman room to operate in the paint.

I think 15PPG is asking alot from him. 12-13 I see as more reasonable. but he might but up 1.5 3's again. 15 wouldn't be impossible, but I would just go close to no on that.

13PPG or 15PPG, isn't really what makes him valuable. He is easily going to average at least 2.0-3PTM if he can continue nailing down 35+ MPG, it speaks it in his track record and he is set up to do so with a playmaking PG and a dominant offensive big man. He should also continue turning the ball over at around 1-1.5TO and really doesn't hurt you in any category.

I don't like the Butler-Lewis comparisons. Lewis is a VERY good player. Before he was paired up with D Howard he was a good rebounder and even blocked some shots. He can do more than shoot, but that's his role on Orlando. Butler is a scrub. Maybe he'll score 12 a game, but only because he's surrounded by talent. Is 12 pts and 1.5 3's something to go running to the wire for? With 0 rebs and 0 assists? Not for me.

please stop it........"glorified spot-up shooter"

Rashard Lewis is a 2nd/B, 3th option at worst in that team





are you trying to convince me or yourself with this "fairytale" ??

exactly

Lewis IS a good player, but he hasn't utilized any of his OTHER talents in ORL since he arrived there. What is his primary role in ORL? A spot up shooter, what was Rasual Butler/Peja Stojakovic's role in NO last year? Spot up shooters.

This is fantasy basketball, not real life general manager. We are talking about opportunities and roles, not who can do a 360 reverse dunk or who can crossover 8x in a row. Rasual Butler is in a position to succeed, it has nothing to do with the fact that he is a one-dimensional player - so is Channing Frye and he has been severely medicore his whole career yet when put in the right position/role he can thrive.



Is that the case? Then please enlighten me as to why Rashard Lewis was rarely if ever given any isolation plays or post ups while Hedo Turkoglu was in ORL? If I could find the numbers I could almost guarantee that nearly 75% of Lewis' FGA are in direct correlation to something created by Dwight Howard, Turkoglu, or Nelson and NOT by himself. If you need further proof, please go take a look at Lewis' career averages and notice that while he was in SEA he created more shots for himself as a scorer and took considerably less 3PTA than he does now in ORL.

It's completely obvious what he is now and there is nothing wrong with that. He fits the role that he needs to fill well and I don't understand why Butler couldn't fill his when he has shown in the past that he is completely fit to be able to knock down open 3PT shots.

He should still chip in 3 rebounds as well, and an assist. Not huge, but not terrible. We not talking about a top of a rotation stud, but a worthy fillin, end of the rotation guy.

so what ??

he was still the 2nd/B, 3rd option on that team



Butler is not

I don't see how he can score 15 ppg in a Dunleavy system playing with Baron, Gordon, Kaman, Griffin, Camby & Thornton

I don't understand what you are trying to say. I lay out my reasoning as to why Rashard Lewis was no where close to being a 2nd option let a lone the 3rd while he has been in Orlando, yet you haven't. I also explained why Butler could be serviceable in his role considering the talent around him.

Just because a guy scores 18-20PPG doesn't mean he's a top option scoring threat. Rashard Lewis just happens to be very efficient at what he does, which is shoot a ton of threes.

I'm only touting Butler as a serviceable fantasy option if you need 3PTM, PPG, and an efficient low-TO player. I never once stated that he was going to turn into 06-07 Kevin Martin or be a fantasy savior. Most of the high-profile long term upside WW pickups such as Danilo Gallinari, CDR, and Brandon Jennings are already off the board, so for guys who have holes in their benches I figured Rasual Butler would be a good fit considering he doesn't hinder your team in any way.

Butler is allright . Even in a deep league he's too inconsistent to pick up.

Ahem...

Solid pickup. The FG% could be brutal at times. He's a career 40% shooter.

I think the key point here is that Nomidi is not stating that he's going to be a starter over another F on your team, but when you have a guy that plays 2 games like next week and Butler plays 4, it might make sense to insert Butler into your weekly lineup. No one here is saying that Butler is the savior, just a servicable option that is getting major minutes in LAC. As we are all aware, minutes are the key to fantasy statistics.

just when i though dunleavy might be getting smarter he goes and starts butler over thornton. dunleavy is the worst coach in the league.

I hate Dunleavy too, but Butler's a better fit with the starting 5 than Chucker Al. Butler's not a ball-dominator like Thornton is, which allows him to fit better with Baron, who's also a ball-dominator.

The Clipper 2nd unit needs a scorer as well, they've needed one since Maggette left.

I am not sure I buy it mid/long-term. Butler could never crack the starting lineup when he was with the Hornets, and they've never had anyone special at the two swingman spots where he plays. I'd argue that the Clips have better options at both those spots currently and this is perhaps a motivational tactic to get the younger Thornton to play harder. If we hadn't seen Butler in this league for years I'd give you the benefit of the doubt but I really don't see it lasting.

Butler started 74 games for the Hornets last season.

Doh! /me eats crow

Sorry, not a Hornets fan - made an unbacked assumption. Even still, I don't see him doing anything statistically relevant since he didn't last year with the Hornets. I could be wrong though.

According to Basketball Monster, for a standard 9 cat league, Butler finished last season ranked 124 which was one behind Derrick Rose. I'm not saying Butler is better than Rose, but that his game is underrated. I agree with the OP, now that Butler is in the starting lineup, he could put up some decent numbers.

I think Eric Gordon is going to be special, he's got the SG spot on lock for 40mpg.

That leaves ~60 mpg available at SG/SF. I wouldn't be upset with a 30/30 split, but I do think Butler fits better as a floor-spacing optino with Baron and Gordon's penetration and Kaman's postups. They don't really need a 4th guy out there who can create his own shot.

As bad as Butler's shooting, even after his 3/15, he's still shooting better than Thornton.

I went to see if he was available, but saw that he was drafted in my league.

Al Thornton is painfully inefficient. You have to watch some games and look beyond the %'s. I love watching basketball, all teams, all levels. But the only fun in watching Al is to count his number of ugly FG attempts. Every time he shoots and Eric Gordon OR Kaman is on the floor, I want to slap him.

I would rather own JJ Redick who should be available in the same size leagues

he may have started 74 games last season, but he shouldn't have.