NBA Free Agents 2011: Caron Butler Would Be Strong Option for Playoff Contender

With talks between free agents and teams opening up on Wednesday, forward Caron Butler finds himself a hot commodity.

According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, as many as six teams are interested in the 31-year-old, including the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks.

The Nets, Clippers and Heat are reportedly chasing bigger names at the moment, which means the Bulls, Spurs and Knicks may be the front-runners.

Butler is expected to go for the mid-level exception of $5 million this offseason, which doesn't make him too expensive for interested parties.

He's coming off a season in which he averaged 15.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals before going down to injury and missing the final 53 games of the season. That's a concern with Butler, who can be a multi-tooled player when healthy, but he's played in only 103 games in the last three seasons.

That's why Butler's price tag is fairly low and why he's not the best fit as a starter, but could be a nice addition as a bench player for a playoff contender.

Butler could be a good fit off the bench for the Bulls, who clearly need offensive help on the wings.

The Knicks are saving up for Paul, and signs point to them eventually landing him, so Butler may be off limits there, too.

That has me thinking that the Spurs could be the best fit. They don't have George Hill anymore and Butler is the type of player they like, someone who can do multiple things to help out and is a veteran who plays smart.

Expect for the Spurs to go after Butler this offseason and add talent to a team that disappointed per expectations last season.