Washington Wizards sign high-upside guard Jared Butler to a two-way contract
By Cem Yolbulan
The Washington Wizards are continuing to reshape their roster. The latest move for the Washington Wizards in their busy summer was signing unrestricted free agent guard Jared Butler to a two-way contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Butler will be the second two-way deal for Washington who already has Eugene Omoruyi, and just announced the release of guard Quenton Jackson.
Free agent G Jared Butler has agreed on a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Butler has played with Utah and Oklahoma City in his first two NBA seasons.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 24, 2023
Butler was the 40th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and spent his rookie season with the Utah Jazz, before signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder towards the end of the 2022-23 season. Wizards GM Will Dawkins was the one who signed him in OKC and he has chosen to bring the familiar face to Washington with him.
Most notably, Jared Butler was the 2021 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player as he led the Baylor Bears to their first national championship. He put up 22 points and 7 assists in the win over the previously undefeated Gonzaga in the title game. In his junior year before declaring for the NBA Draft, Butler had averaged an impressive 16.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2 steals.
The reason a winning player with a lot of talent was pushed down to the second round of the draft, was his health. Butler suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic heart condition that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. However, fortunately, he was cleared to play professionally by NBA doctors before the draft process and hasn’t had issues since.
As a player, Butler may not have found success in the NBA so far, but he has shown flashes in different stages of his career. In Las Vegas Summer League this year, he averaged 20 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game in only 22.5 minutes. The most exciting part of his game was the 48% accuracy he hit on 7.3 threes per game. Considering that he hit over 41 percent from three in his final college season, this sort of high-volume, high-accuracy outside shooting may be sustainable.
The three-point shooting needs to keep going down for Butler. As a 6’3 combo guard, he doesn’t have elite athleticism or passing chops. He profiles as a score-first guard, and for that to work, he needs to keep hitting his shots.
An impressive part of Butler’s game is his strength. Despite his small size, he doesn’t get moved around easily and competes defensively. The fact that he can play both on-ball and off-ball makes him an intriguing fit as a combo guard next to point guards or shooting guards. That is a useful skill set to have in the NBA.
Despite three years in college and two years in the NBA, Butler is still only 22 years old. He plays more maturely than his NBA experience would suggest. His NBA-ready body, scoring, shooting, and decision-making could be an asset for the Washington Wizards.
Considering that Butler was signed to a two-way deal and will spend a significant time with the Capital City Go-Go, this was a worthy flyer. It’s the right type of high-upside gamble that the rebuilding Wizards should consider. Let’s hope Washington is a permanent home for Jared Butler.
