2010 NBA Draft: Why Da'Sean Butler Is the Steal of the Draft

Through a stroke of good luck, an NBA team will benefit greatly if they can find the courage to take Da’Sean Butler in the 2010 draft this Thursday.

Butler tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the second half of the Final Four game between the Duke Blue Devils and West Virginia Mountaineers last April.

“I’ve learned from all of this that I can take a lot,” Butler told Draftexpress.com. “I was pretty much at the highest point I could be when I was in the Final Four and then this happened.

“I was kind of upset about it, but I realized I had a lot of work to do to get back to where I was before the injury,” he said. “It was the perfect time really to make me a better player and a stronger person.”

The second-team All-American player has been working very hard to get himself back into shape for the draft, but the reality is that he won’t be cleared to play full contact basketball until October, four months after the draft. An ACL injury is not career-ending as it was 50 years ago, but it takes time to heal.

"You have to take into account the size of these guys, I'm telling you it's different," said Steve Hess, the Denver Nuggets strength and conditioning coach, who has seen this injury with Nene Hilario.

"When you are seven feet [tall], 270 lbs, the force on that joint is a lot different than a guy five feet [tall]. The specific area is a hot spot for up to two years, and it definitely takes between 12 and 18 months to come back. And you want to take your time, because you want to be the best you ever were when you come back."

Butler is not 7'0", but he will need to be just as patient at 6'7" and 230 lbs.

He is worth the wait, however, because he is projected in the best case scenario to be a Joe Johnson and in the worst case scenario to be a “Big Shot” James Posey.

Butler made five game-winning shots his senior year, including a three-pointer over Cincinnati and a layup over Georgetown to help West Virginia clinch the Big East championship. He led West Virginia to the Final Four, averaging 17.2 points, 3.1 assists, and 6.2 rebounds.

A player Butler can look to for inspiration is Baron Davis, who also tore his ACL in the NCAA tournament his freshman season. Davis was able to recover in time for his sophomore season, during which he averaged almost 16 points a game for UCLA.

“The rehab is day after day after day, and you have to be real strong mentally,'' Davis said. ”There were lots of times I broke down. I had plenty of down days. I had plenty of days I wanted to quit. They told me I could do it, and they showed me it could be done. Plus, I saw the season closing in, and that's when I kicked it up.''

Butler may well be able to play next season. His doctor thinks the surgery went “super well,” and he is projected to be ready to take part in full basketball drills by NBA preseason games.

He will be a great fit for teams drafting in the latter part of the draft—teams like the LA Lakers, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, or Oklahoma City Thunder. These teams had winning records last season and won’t necessarily need to tinker with their roster much for next season. This will give Butler the time he needs to recover.

“Teams gave me feedback as far as I would fit their system, and I’m the kind of guy they’d love to have on their team,” Butler said. “It wasn’t so much about basketball as it was about me being a person they wanted, which is a good thing to hear.”

This says a lot about Butler’s character, but sadly teams will not draft a player just because someone thinks “he is a nice guy.” General Managers must show results quickly or find another job.

“I’m not going to say I was perfect all year, but I did well for myself, so I shouldn’t have to worry about the basketball because I think I had a very good showing this season,” said Butler.

The best wing players in the draft are Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson. Both are projected to be in the lottery, however, over the season Butler was arguably just as good as these guys and led his team furthest in the tournament.

Gordon Hayward, who powered the Butler Bulldogs into the NCAA finals, is now projected to be a late lottery pick. Given that reasoning Butler, who had a stellar year for Bob Huggins, could easily be a lottery pick if healthy.

“It will be cool to go in the second round. It is guaranteed money in the first round but still if I get in I won’t get out,” said Butler.

As a talented player it does not matter where you get drafted. Sure, there is a loss of guaranteed money, but if a player can prove his worth he will more than make up for this loss with a bigger contract.

Second round draft picks do not get guaranteed contracts and can be cut at any point, but if they can prove their worth they will be able to sign a bigger contract while lottery players of the same draft are stuck on the rookie salary.

Carlos Boozer was drafted 34th by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002, and after two years he was able to play himself into a huge contract with the Utah Jazz worth $70 million over six years.

Amar'e Stoudamire, the 2002 Rookie of the Year, and Yao Ming, the No. 1 pick, had to wait three years before they could get a contract on that scale.