Jared Butler Brings Mix of Scoring, Playmaking to Oklahoma City Thunder
In this story:
Just before 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, it was announced by Adrian Wojnarowski that the Oklahoma City Thunder signed guard Jared Butler to fill their open two-way spot.
Butler, who led the Baylor Bears to a national championship just a couple of years ago, was selected with the 40th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz before being released in October of 2022 after a blockbuster trade that sent Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves shook the roster up.
Not a month later, Butler would sign with Denver Nuggets’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, for the 2022-23 season and go on to average 17.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists on 43.9/35.6/84.0 shooting splits across 23 games before being scooped up by the Thunder.
But what exactly does the former second-round pick bring to the table?
Well, for starters, he can stretch the floor.
Dating back to his days in Waco, Texas, – home of Baylor University – the 6-foot-3 Butler has always been able to fill it up from deep. In his three seasons with the Bears, not once did Butler ever shoot below 35% from 3-point range nor did his free throw percentage – a popular metric used by scouts to project shooting success in the NBA – ever dip below 77.5%.
In fact, in his last season at his alma mater, Butler converted 41.6% of his 6.2 3-point attempts, becoming just one of six players that season to do so while playing at least 20 games. The eye test matches that, too. His jumper is consistent and his release is smooth whether he’s shooting it off the catch or off the dribble.
While shooting is a major part of what makes Butler so effective, he’s also an extremely skilled playmaker and ball-handler, evidenced by his year-over-year improvement at Baylor where his assist percentage went from 20.1 in his freshman year to 27.9 in his junior campaign where he averaged 6.3 assists per game.
Those numbers seemed to translate well to the G League where Butler is currently averaging 5.9 assists to just 2.3 turnovers, or a whopping 7.1 assists per 36 minutes. To boot, just a few weeks ago, he posted back-to-back games where he recorded a combined 20 assists to just three turnovers.
No, you won’t see Butler confidently whipping behind-the-back passes a la Rajon Rondo or Josh Giddey, but he definitely possesses the aptitude and requisite quickness to break defenders down and work his way into the paint, where he can finish with either hand, as well as the vision and passing chops to pick apart defenses and find open teammates all over the floor.
While the former Baylor standout does have some weaknesses to work on such as his at-rim finishing, Butler’s ability to do a little bit of everything makes for an intriguing long-term NBA guard prospect. And if the Thunder’s coaching staff can guide him in the right direction, Butler could be the next guard in line for a meaningful role in Oklahoma City.
Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
