![]() So, the fact Butler has improved so much in that area is a really good thing for him. The NBA is a pick-and-roll league, especially in the regular season. ![]() But some of the red flags he showed have to be worked out this season, or that won’t bode well for the remainder of his career. At the NBA level, if you show a rhythm dribble, often the open window closes.īutler is an NBA player. He showed a tendency to need a few rhythm dribbles to make his moves off the bounce. More importantly, he should have been able to get into his movements quicker. That being said, Butler should have been able to show more chops off the bounce in these past two weeks. But, people play harder in a summer-league game than in a typical NBA game in December or January. I’m in no way equating the talent of summer league to the talent of an actual NBA game. So, sometimes, you can find it a bit harder to play in summer league than it is to play in an actual NBA game. Also, officiating is pretty loose in summer-league settings. So, every possession is going to look like it’s the final possession of people’s careers. The caveat to this is that in summer league everyone is playing with the knowledge that their basketball mortality is on the line. He’s a small guard, and that means he’s got to be able to touch the paint off the dribble whenever he needs to. He struggled with his jumper, and the only time he could find any separation was when he was in a pick-and-roll situation.īutler’s about 6-foot-1. He struggled to finish in the lane and at the basket. That led to some horrific shooting performances. He could not beat his man in isolation situations. So, there are things to like, for sure.īut, on some level, the negative things were alarming.īutler struggled through the entire summer league to gain separation off the dribble. He’s a competitive and pesky defender, which makes him playable on that end, despite his lack of size. He’s always had a terrific handle on the ball, and that was on display for most of the summer league. His passing and playmaking were pretty much first-rate through summer league. He’s seeing passes and reads that he simply wasn’t seeing as a rookie. His reads out of pick-and-roll have improved significantly. ![]() Butler’s ability to create out of pick-and-roll has improved from his rookie season. His summer-league performance was uneven at best. Even among the younger guys - yes, the Jazz have plenty of veterans - Butler has a bunch of competition. There’s no guarantee he finds his way into the rotation. If Utah finds a way to trade Donovan Mitchell, the return from that trade will likely add more backcourt competition for Butler. What’s not easy about this is the Jazz have a stacked backcourt. So, between now and next summer, he will have to show the Jazz enough for them to spend a qualifying offer on him, enough for them to want to give him the runway to a third NBA season. He will be a free agent after next season. That’s what’s tough for Butler, more than anything. It’s almost August, and the answers to those questions are impossible. But, how much is Butler going to play this coming season? How much of an opportunity is he going to get? How big a stake in Will Hardy’s rotation is Butler going to command? Will he even be in Hardy’s rotation at all? 20 on, then you had better pop as a player and you had better pop quickly.Īll of this is to say Jared Butler is entering the defining season of his NBA career, and he’s in a difficult spot. But if you are drafted anywhere from, say, No. Teams have to justify the draft status, so, those guys are more often than not given third and fourth years. High lottery picks to mid-first-round picks are often the exception to this. For second-round picks, the urgency is even more pronounced.
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