NBA Free Agency 2011: The Top 10 Destinations for Dallas Mavericks' Caron Butler
The Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Finals. We all know that. But they're doing all this magic without one of their best players, Caron Butler.
You know it hurts Caron to see his team do so well without him. He may be even sadder after the season ends.
When you take a step back, you realize that the Mavs did all of this without Butler. So what's the point of even keeping him if the team plays better without him?
It also hurts Butler's chances of re-signing with Dallas especially since the Mavericks NEED to re-sign center Tyson Chandler and point guard J.J. Barea. Butler is probably going to demand at least $10 million per season and Dallas can't really afford that.
So this makes Butler quite expendable and I predict that we will see Butler in a different uniform next season.
The only remaining question, however, is who does he sign with?
Phoenix Suns
1 of 10
The Suns are old. Very old. This is where Butler comes in.
Butler can play either shooting guard or small forward and the Suns are necessarily old at both positions, with Vince Carter and the ageless Grant Hill holding down the starting forts.
Although they do have quality back-ups in Mickael Pietrus, Jared Dudley and so on, none of them will actually be considered "quality starters" in this league. Butler is though.
Now for this deal to work, a sign-and-trade would more than likely have to be done, with the Mavs acquiring Pietrus and/or Dudley, both of which fit Dallas' offensive scheme as deep threats.
Butler is also a very decent shooter and working with point guard Steve Nash can only help that dimension of his game.
The Suns are also set to have a little bit of cap room so they could accept a deal for Butler worth around $10 million, as long as they're giving up somebody on their end.
Sacramento Kings
2 of 10
This is probably one of the scenarios that is least likely to happen, but there is still that small chance that it could.
The Kings, who will return to Sacramento for at least one more season, are absolutely terrible at the small forward position.
If they want to actually contend for a championship, they cannot solely depend on either Francisco Garcia, Donte Greene, or Omri Casspi (who is likely to be traded or released) as their starters at the third spot in the rotation.
They just can't.
But if the Kings could magically pull off a deal to acquire Butler, that would give the Kings one heck of a backcourt—Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton (if re-signed), and Butler.
The Kings arguably have the most cap space and could deal in free agency almost more than anybody, so I'm expecting them to do a little bit of damage in the market this offseason.
San Antonio Spurs
3 of 10
Three words: It could happen.
The Spurs are clearly entering a rebuilding phase, or at least a phase to where they cannot solely depend on Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobili.
There has to be that third or fourth option that they can rely on and the evidence has shown us that Richard Jefferson does not fill that need. Jefferson seems to be the odd man out in San Antonio, especially when he's making about $8.4 million per season.
Duncan made over $18 million last season, also the last year of his contract. Since Duncan is on the decline and getting older, we can expect him to take a much lesser salary, possibly somewhere around $10 million per season.
That gives San Antonio the opportunity to add another offensive force to their rotation.
They may have enough cap space to just sign Butler outright or if they don't, work out a sign-and-trade with Dallas that would send Jefferson to the Mavs, along with an additional player or pick.
However, Butler has had some attitude problems in the past and with such a disciplinary coach like Popovich, they may not be able to mesh together.
But the Spurs cannot deny that Butler would be a good fit in San Antonio. There is a legitimate shot that he could end up there, too.
Denver Nuggets
4 of 10
Notice a trend yet? This is the fourth straight Western Conference team that could possibly end up signing Butler.
With the Nuggets possibly losing Wilson Chandler, Nene, and J.R. Smith in free agency, the Nuggets could have a lot of cap space to use to their advantage.
If Denver does indeed lose Chandler, the signing of Butler could help them more than they think. Although Chandler is a better all-around player, Butler can still provide numbers just as good, along with better shooting.
Butler can also play either shooting guard or small forward and that could fit right in with Denver's plans.
The Nuggets often used Arron Afflalo as their starting shooting guard this season, and Butler could easily take over as the starter, simply because he has more experience and is a decent shooter, although probably not as good as Afflalo.
He would also be able to be the starting small forward, as the Nuggets could lose Chandler to free agency. Butler would surely beat out Danilo Gallinari for the starting spot, unless Gallinari is moved to power forward.
I consider Denver to be one of the most likeliest destinations for Butler, as they have cap space and is a better fit than most other teams.
Los Angeles Clippers
5 of 10
I hope that Caron wouldn't make that face if he actually signed with the Clips.
The Clippers are definitely headed on the right track, though.
With a young corps that features Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon, the Clips could be just one solid player away from making a playoff run in the tough Western Conference.
That's possibly where Butler comes in.
The "other" Los Angeles team used their first-round selection on small forward Al-Farouq Aminu last year. Aminu has tons of potential, but he didn't play spectacular due to lack of minutes.
If Butler signed with the Clips, he could become a mentor to Aminu and help mold the young player into a quality starter in this league.
The potential signing of Butler could mean that the Clippers would have one of the best starting rotations in the league—Mo Williams, Gordon, Butler, Griffin, and Chris Kaman.
That is a very capable team of making the playoffs, although they would need some luck.
Memphis Grizzlies
6 of 10
This deal only works out IF there is a sign-and-trade that would send Rudy Gay to the Mavericks and Caron Butler to the Grizzlies.
This is one of the unlikeliest scenarios out of the ten, as Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said he has no intention of getting rid of Gay, who signed a multi-year extension with the team last summer.
There have been plenty of rumors surrounding Gay, but he will more than likely stay in Memphis.
However, if this trade actually happened, the Mavericks would get the slight advantage.
Gay is younger with a lot of potential and is one of the best shooting/rebounding small forwards in the league. Adding him to a team that is currently in the NBA Finals can only make the Mavs a powerhouse in the West.
The deal would also help the Grizzlies, as they showed that they could be a great team without Rudy Gay. They may not be as good with Butler at the helm, but they would definitely be a playoff-capable team.
Charlotte Bobcats
7 of 10
The Michael Jordan-led Bobcats definitely took a step back this season after making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2009-10.
Outside of Stephen Jackson, the Bobcats really have no quality shooting guards or small forwards.
Butler could definitely fill that void if possible.
A potential signing of Butler, in my opinion, would put the Bobcats in the playoffs. With the Bulls, Celtics, Heat, Magic, and Hawks running a muck as perennial playoff teams, there are three spots available for the other eleven Eastern Conference teams.
Adding Butler to the Bobcats gives them an additional scoring threat, something they didn't have last season.
Stephen Jackson had to practically carry the team on his shoulders and had to hope that D.J. Augustin, Boris Diaw, and/or Tyrus Thomas could possibly make some buckets.
Butler would fill a great need for Charlotte.
Dallas Mavericks
8 of 10
Bet you didn't expect to see the Mavericks on the list, huh?
Personally, I do not think that Butler will re-sign with Dallas because the cap space just isn't there, especially since they have to also worry about Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea.
Unless both players take less money to remain with the team, I do not see the Mavericks actually re-signing Butler.
The main key to this story is that the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals without Butler for most of the season.
So, why would they even need him? Although it'd be a luxury to re-sign him, they don't actually need him to make a championship run.
But if there's one thing we've learned in sports, it's that anything can happen.
New Jersey Nets
9 of 10
Butler would be a good fit for the up-and-coming Nets.
After making a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline to acquire Deron Williams, the Nets are headed in the right direction and could be in the playoffs very very soon.
The Nets would need to re-sign Kris Humphries in order to be a playoff-caliber team however. And it is very plausible that he will be a Net next season.
With Damion James, Travis Outlaw, and Stephen Graham occupying the small forward positions, there is no clear-cut starter for New Jersey.
The signing of Butler would mean that he would become the immediate starter and with a corps that features Williams, Humphries, and Brook Lopez, the Nets could be considered a favored playoff team.
Orlando Magic
10 of 10
Like the Grizzlies, this deal would only work out if there was a potential sign-and-trade.
The Magic would probably have to send forward Hedo Turkoglu and a small contract to the Mavericks in exchange for Butler.
I can't realistically see the Mavs actually pulling the trigger on this deal, especially since Turkoglu really doesn't fit into their scheme. However, Turkoglu is a three-point shooter and if there's anything we've seen in this year's playoffs, it's that the Mavs are a three-point shooting team.
The deal would benefit the Magic, as it gives Dwight Howard another scoring threat.
It has seemed that the Magic solely depend on Howard to do all the hard work and he can't do it by himself. He needs someone else to take the pressure off of his shoulders.
Butler, a potential 20 point-per-game scorer, would help take the pressure off of Howard.
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