He scored 35 points against the Lakers but was still waived by the Suns. Now he has to move to Europe?

The Serbian giant Red Star Belgrade officially announced that the team has signed Jared Butler, a rising backcourt star who had just been waived by the Phoenix Suns. With the completion of this signing, Butler will also appear in European competition for the first time in the new season. According to European sports media Sport24 reporter Konstantinos Melayes, Belgrade Red Star promised Butler a starting position and stable playing time. Considering that Red Star can also participate in basketball UEFA Champions League games, this should also be an important factor for Butler to join the team.

Butler was born in August 2000. He is 25 years old, 191cm tall and weighs 88kg. He is a backcourt player from Baylor University selected by the Utah Jazz with the 40th pick in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. Butler has also bounced around many teams in the NBA, but has never been able to gain a foothold. In the NBA regular season last season, Butler played 60 times on behalf of the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 17.4 minutes per game. He averaged 9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. He also had 1.3 turnovers and 1.6 fouls. He shot 44.8% from the field, 35.5% from the three-point range, and 82.4% from the free throw line. In the NBA Development League last season, Butler played a total of 2 games on behalf of the Wizards' affiliated team Capital Gogo, averaging 30.3 minutes per game. He averaged 22.5 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He also had 1.5 turnovers and 2.5 fouls. He shot 57.7% from the field, 42.9% from the three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line.

This summer, Butler signed a training camp contract with the Phoenix Suns that included Exhibit 9 clauses. He also hopes to gain the opportunity to stay on the team through his performance in training camp and preseason games. In the previous NBA preseason games, Butler played a total of 4 times on behalf of the Suns, averaging 21 minutes per game. He averaged 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He also had 2 turnovers and 3 fouls. He shot 47.1% from the field, 35.3% from the three-point range, and 66.7% from the free throw line. In the last game of the preseason against the Los Angeles Lakers, Butler made 14 of 25 shots, 5 of 9 from behind the three-point line, and 2 of 6 free throws in 33 minutes and 52 seconds of playing time. He scored a game-high 35 points, plus 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 1 steal, a quasi-triple-double. There was no turnover and 3 fouls, with a plus-minus of +1.

Regrettably, although Butler exploded in the last game of the preseason and broke the Lakers' defense, the Suns still chose to waive him due to quota restrictions. Since other teams' quotas are basically full, and Butler is no longer eligible to sign a two-way contract, he had to leave the NBA and go to Europe to play. For Butler, moving to the European arena is not necessarily a bad thing. He can get more playing time and performance opportunities, and he can also further demonstrate his value to everyone. Butler was once the 2021 NCAA Final Four MOP winner. He performed very well in the NCAA. However, due to the impact of heart problems, his draft stock plummeted, which also caused his career to become extremely unsatisfactory. Perhaps moving to the European arena is also an opportunity for him to fully prove his strength.