Nuggets sign Brian Butch from D-League

[MHZ]

With Kenyon Martin still sidelined and the playoffs approaching, the Denver Nuggets are reaching into the D-League to add some frontcourt depth.

The Nuggets have reached an agreement to sign center Brian Butch of the Bakersfield Jam to a contract for the rest of this season and a non-guaranteed deal for next season, according to sources close to the situation.

Denver has been looking for an extra big man all season but couldn't strike a palatable trade before the Feb. 18 trading deadline and passed on free agents Brian Cook and Jake Voskuhl after working out both in March.

A 6-foot-11 center out of Wisconsin, Butch is averaging nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds for Bakersfield.

Butch will become the ninth D-League player this season to receive a non-guaranteed contract for next season in addition to a rest-of-season deal. He joins Houston's Mike Harris, Curtis Jerrells, Garrett Temple, San Antonio's Alonzo Gee, Utah's Sundiata Gaines and Othyus Jeffers, Golden State's Reggie Williams and Chicago's Chris Richard.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5056049

[MHZ]

I actually like the move more than signing a Cook or Voskuhl. At worst, he's an insurance policy on the bench in case something bad happens. There's a decent chance, if he ever sees the court, that he'd really work his ass off on the glass, which would be a welcome sight. With these D-League guys, there's a pretty good chance you'll get incredible effort out there, as he tries to prove he belongs.

Non-guaranteed for next year is always fun for the offseason.

[J Smitty]

Agreed. I also like that he at least has some size. A guy like Cook would have been useless, just like Allen. What good is a "big" that is smaller then our small forwards, can't rebound, and can't defend?

Not only can this guy shoot the ball(35% from three, with about 80 makes in 60 games)...but he is also 6'11 and 240 lbs, which means at the very least he should be able to hold his own in the post and take up space. Plus he can rebound too, at over 12 per game in the D-League.


Never really seen him play, but I can guarantee I'd rather see him get minutes over Malik.....which would pretty much make him our first big off the bench right now. Doubt it happens though.

[pickIBL]

not a bad pickup at all. I've seen him play @ wisc and the D-league. The D-league is where marginal bigs go to dominate. I hope Butch is up to the task if called upon. I'm just warning the talent at the 4 and 5 isn't outstanding in the D-league.

[MHZ]

I don't think anybody expects to get a really good player from the D-League. Honestly, I'll be surprised if we ever see him touch the court in a Nuggets uniform. If he does, it could be really good (blowout wins - garbage time) or really bad (ton of injuries/blowout losses).

I just care about him giving a ton of effort and hitting the glass hard, honestly.

[eathy]

Obviously not expecting too much, but I like that he's a big and can shoot 3s.

[eslr]

Realistically this signing was just made to have another big body in practice. With KMart and Bird resting they needed at least one more big to run drills.

JR also needs another driver now, which is a role Butch could fill. His old driver is banned from PC.

[pickaxe]

Asking a big like Butch to get rebounds is not a hefty task. In fact, with our ability to score his task is probably of the easiest tasks in the entire league. If he can do good work on top of that it's a bonus.

Is his nick really "Polar Bear" ?

[DaFan334]

After finding this picture as a top result from google of the "Polar Bear", I think we should renickname him the Bro.

At least hes tall and can hit the 3 and rebound. Is he playoff eligible though?

[basketballdario]

Not a bad pick-up at all, he's a much harder worker than any of the other options (and Malik Allen as well), he should help with the end of the season until people come back, maybe not so much on the court, but there's nothing to lose.

[Buckwild3]

Glad to see Butch pick up with an NBA team. He has a nice skill set for a big man and certainly help as a deeper bench player. As already mentioned, he's a pretty good shooter. In the NBA, I could see him providing some mid range and outside shooting game. In his last couple years at Madison, he developed a nice mean streak and was able to provide some punch down low. I doubt he'll be effective there in the NBA, but he certainly has a body to be competitive.

His nickname in college was the Polar Bear. I believe he received it from some ESPN commentators. When Butch started becoming aggressive and developing that mean streak, he also developed a little snarl. He'd also do this chest pump with his lumbering arms. Couple those together and really he did look like a Polar Bear at times.

[pickaxe]

After finding this picture as a top result from google of the "Polar Bear", I think we should renickname him the Bro.

At least hes tall and can hit the 3 and rebound. Is he playoff eligible though?

Polar Bro? Nah too much.

edit: why does the lumberjack song by monty python come to mind...

[el loco]

He looks like Mark Pope, I hope he can blog like the Pope did.

[JRMelo15]

If he can get some playing time over TACOS!!!, I'm all for him playing, I don't think anyone we bring in can be worse than TACOS!!!.

[KashyCleopatra]

After finding this picture as a top result from google of the "Polar Bear", I think we should renickname him the Bro.

At least hes tall and can hit the 3 and rebound. Is he playoff eligible though?

I say we use that photo of "Polar Bear" in our gamethreads...what do y'all think? Or perhaps when we are a losing streak or get blown out? It's kind of funny in a weird way.

[SnakefromHell]

What I remember about Butch was his team lost to Stephen Curry's team in NCAA last year...

Wasn't Birdman an NBDL player too at one point? He became a star. Let's hope he's one of those gems.