Jared Butler
Point and Shooting Guard, 6’3”, 195 pounds, 25 years old, 4 years of NBA experience
Throughout this season, the Suns are going to have guys competing for spots in this rotation. That competition and hunger are something that new head coach Jordan Ott wants to see displayed on the court on both sides of the ball. By encouraging this, he aims to bring out the best in every individual within the organization, enabling them to determine who will be part of their long-term plans.
This is where Jared Butler
comes into play for the Suns. He was the last person to be signed to the team and is someone expected to be in that battle right from the start of training camp later this month. After a successful year, he is looking to make an impact on a roster to find a home, and his next stop is the Valley.
2024-25 Recap
Butler had a bit of a wild season last year. He first started the season with the Washington Wizards on a two-way contract. This would allow Butler to play at both levels, but primarily be an injury reserve for a young and rebuilding Washington core. As we know from last year’s standings, Washington was the worst team in the Eastern Conference, so for Butler to find playing time, it came in bunches. The Wizards were trying to evaluate other players, but Butler was impressing them. In the 32 games he played for them, he averaged 6.9 pts and 2.6 ast in 11.3 minutes per night. This led the Wizards to do him a favor and trade him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Reggie Jackson.
At this point in the year, the Sixers were injured, playing terribly, and were at a high risk of losing their first-round pick. Not to mention that Reggie Jackson had fallen out of their rotation as he was not looking good for them. This led them to want to switch directions and try to “trust the rebuild process for one year,” again leading them to trade for and then offer Butler a standard contract for the rest of the season. This would be an excellent decision for both teams, as Butler received the most playing time he has had since coming into the league.
He played 28 games for the Sixers, which he started in 17 of them, averaging 24.4 minutes a night. This was doubling his minutes just from a couple of weeks ago, and it paid off for Butler, who got to average 11.5 pts, 4.9 ast, and 1.1 steals per game. This gives teams an idea of what Butler can be if given the minutes and development time. Unfortunately for Butler, the Sixers were only in that mindset for the end of last season and did not see him fitting into their team this year, which was lucky for Phoenix.
Contract Details
Jared Butler signed a non-guaranteed, one-year Exhibit 9 contract with the Phoenix Suns. Now, that may not be very clear or a lot of words to some, so I can break it down for you.
An Exhibit 9 contract is a little different from the Exhibit 10 deal. Both are training camp deals, allowing the player to come to the facility and work with the team. Since they are non-guaranteed, though, that does not mean the player is set to make the money on that contract. If the player is waived from the deal, they are then released and do not receive the remaining money from the contract. The key difference between Exhibits 9 and 10 deals here is that if you are on an Exhibit 10 deal, if waived, you are then eligible to join the G-League team.
With Exhibit 9, you are not, and that is where it comes for Butler. He is competing for the actual roster, and if waived, will then be sent back into the free agency pool.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Butler, in his time in the league, has had very minimal playing time. He had been on multiple two-way contracts, which allowed him to play at both the NBA and G-League levels in those seasons. Last year, he was traded to the Sixers in their injury-riddled year, while he was able to find some starting spots. In these games, Butler was able to showcase his ability to be a distributor for an offense and to handle that with poise. He looks to be a tertiary ball handler for this Suns team, who has Devin Booker and Collin Gillespie ahead of him. For Butler, I am looking for him to shine similarly to Gillespie, as the roster still needs some playmaking. He can quickly get to the basket and help be a creator for scorers on the wing in Grayson Allen and Jalen Green.
For his weaknesses, it would be a combination of a bunch of things. Butler is not exceptional at rebounding, consistently hitting a jump shot, and even being the most athletic of the dribble. With him also not being fantastic in one category, it does not gloss over his weaknesses that could be exposed on the court, hence why he is still trying to find himself a spot in this league as a consistent role player.
One Key Factor
The big elephant in the room to keep an eye on is the competition between Butler and the other guard signed a few months back, Jordan Goodwin. Both were signed around the same time in the offseason, and when both signings had happened, it was rumored that they would battle for the last spot, hence why Butler is on an Exhibit Nine deal instead of a guaranteed one. The Suns are weighing out all their options heading into this season after years of being stuck in salary hell. Now that the team can have some much-needed flexibility on the books, it has allowed them to review the transactions they make with hopefully a more informed eye.
Most teams nowadays only keep 14 out of the 15 rostered spots heading into the year, just for the added flexibility to sign someone if an injury occurs, or to jump in on any trade to find a way to help a team and acquire a positive asset. The Suns are looking to go into this mindset, too, with the discussion of Goodwin vs Butler in training camp before it had even started.
Prediction Time
Ultimately, I am unsure if Butler will be on this roster, as he is on an Exhibit 9 deal and is reportedly in contention with Jordan Goodwin. That being said, even if he is here, his role will not be that expansive on this Suns team, unless the injuries come flowing like previous seasons. Therefore, if he stays, he will be that third ball handler in this rotation.
Stat Prediction: 51 Games Played 7.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, on 47/33/85 shooting splits
Final Thoughts
I personally am a huge fan of Butler and hope he can stick in Phoenix. As the tertiary ball handler in this rotation, he could be someone who could help out in taking away some point guard, which fans would like too. Truly, he could be someone if Collin Gillespie were to be injured or in foul trouble, to fill in and show us why he deserves a spot here, too.
