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Caron Butler is a two-time NBA all-star who has come to the Phoenix Suns from the Los Angeles Clippers with Eric Bledsoe in a three-team trade.
The question remains on whether or not a player like Butler can take a 25-57 team and help it return to NBA playoff contention.
Maybe. The presence of Butler isn’t going to hurt. But the Suns need to keep working on a supporting cast. The likes of Alex Len, who joins the team from the NBA draft, definitely won’t hurt.
Butler, with 11 years of NBA experience, is coming off a disappointing playoff for the Clippers in which he averaged 8.5 points and 2.7 rebounds a game while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor but only 25 percent in three-pointers.
He didn’t quite have the playoff the Clippers had hoped that he would. But Butler brings impressive credentials to the Suns and will give them the backcourt production they need to be a more competitive team. He averaged 10.4 points and 2.9 rebounds a game while shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 38.8 percent in three-pointers.
The Suns should try to get Butler to the free-throw line as often as possible. He shot 83.3 percent from the line for the regular season and 1.000 for the playoffs.
His numbers were down from his career marks so the fear among some Suns fans is that Butler is coming to the team while he’s past his prime.
Maybe he won’t provide the type of production he has in previous seasons but Butler should still be able to do plenty for the Suns.
