After going undrafted this week, Kentucky guard Lamont Butler is headed to the Hawks on a two-way contract, according to reports from Bill O’Rear (Twitter link) and Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
Butler, known for his defensive acumen, played for San Diego State for four seasons before transferring to Kentucky in 2024. He earned a spot on the Mountain West All-Defensive team for three straight years from 2022-24 and won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024.
In 2024/25, as a “super senior,” Butler started all 27 games he played for the Wildcats, averaging 11.4 points, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 26.0 minutes per game, with a solid shooting line of .498/.391/.735. Those shooting percentages were all well above his previous career rates.
A two-way contract would pay Butler roughly $636K if he remains on the roster long enough for it to become fully guaranteed and would make him eligible to play in up to 50 NBA regular season games.
The Hawks previously agreed to terms on a two-way deal with Eli John Ndiaye and are carrying over Daeqwon Plowden on a two-year, two-way contract, so they’ve tentatively filled all three of their two-way slots. However, those spots often remain in flux up until the start of the regular season, since they don’t count against the cap.
UK was absolutely a different team when he was healthy and on the court. He will absolutely make the roster and I wouldn’t be surprised if he became a solid contributor quickly. He reminds me of a better Jose Alvarado.
This is a nice pickup by the Hawks.
Does anyone know where one may find a complete listing to the new undrafted player contracts?
Jon Chepkevich does a good job with his: link to rookiescale.com