Has unanimously confirmed my fitness to play in the NBA. The 20-year-old Louisiana native was held out of on-court activities during most of the pre-draft process and was told that he couldn’t play or practice in any capacity with the NBA until he was cleared by a fitness-to-play panel - a panel of three physicians chosen by the NBA and players association. “It was a no-brainer for us.”īutler, who won a national championship with Baylor and was named the 2021 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, was originally projected as a mid-first round draft selection, but a heart condition that was flagged before the draft combine in June seemed to be the reason that his draft stock fell in recent weeks. “He was somebody that we were really excited when we had the chance to get him,” Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said with a smile after the draft. 30 overall pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the 40th pick and two future second-round picks, and their intel proved right, as they were able to get Butler with the 40th pick, plus the future assets, without a hitch. Butler will be exposed by bigger wings (and of course most bigs) and is most likely a two position defender, but it won’t be for a lack of effort/IQ.The Utah Jazz entered Thursday night with the 30th pick in the NBA draft, but intel received by the front office indicated that the player they wanted, Baylor junior guard Jared Butler, would be available later in the evening. He also possesses the understanding of when to be opportunistic and get his hands on the basketball. It’s worth noting that Butler’s experience at Baylor has turned him into an excellent team defender, who’s constantly in the right position. Defensively, he is efficient in his movements to navigate different types of screens, and quick/twitchy enough to stay attached to his matchups and offer resistance in 1-on-1 scenarios, assuming that they do not have an inordinate strength advantage. The one major area Butler struggles is finishing around the hoop, as his slight frame makes it more difficult to draw fouls and finish against bigger/stronger players. Butler has been a consistent shooter on high volume throughout his college career, and projects as someone who can knock down shots off pull-ups, spot-up opportunities, and off movement despite a lower release (but not drastically so). He likely possesses the best handle in this draft class, and his ability to create advantage off either one cut moves as well as breaking guys down is almost unparalleled this draft cycle. Defensively, Butler’s quickness, as well as his lateral mobility and flexibility (in the hip area) allow him to navigate both on and off ball screens and slide with his man, but his size limits him in terms of scaling up to bigger players, despite his best efforts.īutler has arguably been the best player in college basketball this season, and projects out as a rotation level guard as a minimum, with an outside shot to turn into a starting guard next to a wing initiator. Consequently, he still has a tendency to shy away from contact and resort to finesse/adjustment finishes (which he is very good at, by the way), a big reason why his free throw rate has not taken a leap despite the improvements. An improved burst over the off-season has helped him blow by defenders more often in 2020-21, rather than almost solely relying on his handle which can tend to slow down the game. While Butler has definitely added upper body strength onto his frame to better accept contact at the rim, he is still on the skinnier side without much vertical explosion. Butler possesses high-level balance as well as core and lower body strength - this allows him to maintain a low center of gravity. Average to above-average athlete, but has some traits that boost his NBA standing.
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