WEDNESDAY, 8:54pm: While progress continues between Butler and the Bucks, it appears the buyout may not be complete until Thursday per C.F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter).
TUESDAY, 10:47pm: The buyout is scheduled to be completed on Wednesday, leaving ample time for Butler to clear waivers by Friday and retain his playoff eligibility (Marc Stein of ESPN reports). Stein also says the Heat will be at the front of the line to sign their former draft pick and that Butler is expected to verbally commit to a team before clearing waivers.
10:06pm: TNT’s David Aldridge (via Twitter) also confirms the report, adding that many around the league think the Heat will be Butler’s landing spot once he reaches a buyout. The Spurs and Thunder are also said to be interested.
5:54pm: The Bucks and Raymond Brothers, the agent of forward Caron Butler, are in the process of discussing a buyout, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Five days ago, we passed along that Milwaukee may have included Butler’s name in trade discussions with the Bobcats, who ultimately traded for Luke Ridnour and Gary Neal.
Butler was acquired from Phoenix last August, and although the Milwaukee native had originally been excited about his homecoming, there had been rumblings that he eventually became frustrated with his role over the course of the year. Back in September, Bucks GM John Hammond made it clear that the 6’7 swingman was brought in to be a starter and play a significant role. However, Butler had only started in 13 of 34 games this season after starting in 78 for the Clippers during 2012/13.
This year, the former UConn standout is averaging 11.0 PPG and 4.6 RPG while shooting 38.7% from the field and 36.1% from long distance. He is currently in the final season of a three-year, $24MM contract and will turn 34 next month.
It should be interesting to see what happens with Butler and Granger in the buyout market. Caron could be a fit on multiple teams. The Bulls should be in on him if they’re smart. Dallas, Portland, etc. I would love to see him come back to Miami, though I havent had much of a chance to see how he’s moving defensively this year, but it would allow me to break out my jerseys. Granger is harder to peg b/c its hard to know just how healthy he is. I dont know if he is much of a fit in Miami b/c he isnt really all that athletic. He seems to fit the Spurs pretty well if he is healthy. The Clippers would make sense as well, as he can play a little as a stretch 4. I’m excited for these next couple of days.
Knicks? Thunder?
I feel like Butler and Beasley are redundant but who knows?