Clippers officially sign Caron Butler

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:34 pm

Source: Caron Butler agrees to terms with Clippers. Three years, 24M.

David Aldridge

Post #2 » by **mkwest** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:44 pm

It's a bit more than I would have liked to have seen us sign him for. Losing out on Prince who signed 4yrs/$30M probably forced our hand a bit.

Health is an issue for him, but he should be able to help this team as long as he is on the court. I'm hoping for the best. Today's NBA news has kind of sucked for us, but it is what it is.

Ramona is now saying we only offered Tayshaun a year deal... :nonono:

donemilio21 · Post #3 » by **donemilio21** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:15 pm

hmm. Butler addresses a need. He is not a very good 3 point shooter, but which FA is, right?

$8mil a year is not a small deal though. with DJ and EJ's extensions we wont have any capsapce at summer of 2012.

ShowtimeFan · Post #4 » by **ShowtimeFan** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:51 pm

Good solid pick-up for the Clippers, he will fit in great and will ensure a play-off berth if all goes as planned...!

Post #5 » by **mkwest** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:54 pm

donemilio21 wrote:hmm. Butler addresses a need. He is not a very good 3 point shooter, but which FA is, right?

$8mil a year is not a small deal though. with DJ and EJ's extensions we wont have any capsapce at summer of 2012.

He shot 43.1% from three last season on 2.2 attempts per game. If he's anywhere remotely close to that, then perimeter shooting isn't a problem. Prince, for example, has a higher career average (36.8%), but only averaged 1.3 attempts per game last season. That's kind of like Gomes' numbers. Decent percentage, but not a high volume.

We still have the amnesty clause in our back pocket as well as an array of trade assets. So all hope isn't lost on us making a big move when an opportunity presents itself. I really hope that DJ accepts our deal, but the fact that nothing has been announced yet probably means that he's going to wait it out and play the field. I'm concerned about the Warriors giving him an offer that he can't refuse (but that we could). Some of these rule changes have screwed us (and other teams) from taking calculated risks. Under the old rules, we might have Paul right now in addition to Butler and DJ. The changes to the extend-and-trade rule and everything makes it a whole new ballgame.

Spurs said to offer Butler four years at full MLE. Nets offered 4 years, and slightly more $ than Clips. Butler chose LA err... Blake

Ramona Shelburne

NJ offered 4 years and $30M. He turned down more money/security to join us if that any consolation to those opposed to the deal.

SEBAS-07 · Post #6 » by **SEBAS-07** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:58 pm

Can you backup from that deal? would you want Hedo for Ryan Gomes and Randy Foye.

Here are the salaries.
Why are you laughing?

Randy Foyer owned salary: 4,250,000
Ryan Gomes owned salary: 8,000,000
Caron Butler presumed salary: 24,000,000
total:36,250,000 millions

VS

Hedo Turkoglu salary

2011/2012:11,015,000
2012/2013: 11,815,000
2013/2014: only 6 millions guaranteed
total: around 29 millions

Hedo Turkoglu is a better passer than Caron Butler, and the Clippers will be getting rid of dead weight in Gomes and Foye.

Post #7 » by **mkwest** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:00 pm

Nobody wants Turk. Foye is expiring and Gomes could be amnestied if need be. Orlando is going to have to pawn him off elsewhere.

jflipclip · Post #8 » by **jflipclip** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:06 pm

Big upgrade. Another threat, depending on how well he's recovered from his injury.

EDIT: Also I wonder what this means for Aminu

donemilio21 · Post #9 » by **donemilio21** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:09 pm

anybody know what our offer was to Prince?
If it was similar to Butler, why would he reject it?

SEBAS-07 · Post #10 » by **SEBAS-07** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:10 pm

mkwest wrote:Nobody wants Turk. Foye is expiring and Gomes could be amnestied if need be. Orlando is going to have to pawn him off elsewhere.

Do you think Caron Butler is better than Turkoglu? Butler is coming from a major injury.

Hedo can connect with Griffin and Jordan easily.

We could add Ryan Anderson and the Clippers add Willie Warren.

Sofia · Post #11 » by **Sofia** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:23 pm

Wtf has Turk got to do with this?

Having just woke up, initial reaction to reading this was ****. Then seeing Prince was gone for 4/30 made me glad that wasn't us, and Mk said, our hand was forced. I do wonder whether this means we either have a trade featuring Aminu in the works, or if Gomes gets the amnesty chop.

supfoo · Post #12 » by **supfoo** » Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:24 pm

butler's pretty solid. positives are that he's certainly the best scorer/shooter available at small forward and he's adjusted his game plenty from his days in washington. fwiw i don't think he dominates the ball nearly as much as most people here assume. if you look at compare and contrast prince/butler/battier shot attempts per 36 and their ts%, you can tell that these guys are not all that far apart in their actual impact on the game.

overall, i'm not excited but i'm not disappointed. it's an okay contract for a fairly useful player coming off a major injury at a position that the team desperately needed to upgrade. i would have preferred prince but not at 30 million.

Post #13 » by **thanumba2clippersfan** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 12:01 am

I'm with a lot of you. Butler is a solid signing and the upgrade that we need. Since we weren't going to get Prince or Battier, Butler is who we had to get. I'm not sure I like $8 million a year, but I always try to go cheaper with signings. Hopefully Butler is healed, healthy and ready to go.

Post #14 » by **mkwest** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 1:18 am

SEBAS-07 wrote:
mkwest wrote:Nobody wants Turk. Foye is expiring and Gomes could be amnestied if need be. Orlando is going to have to pawn him off elsewhere.

Do you think Caron Butler is better than Turkoglu? Butler is coming from a major injury.

Hedo can connect with Griffin and Jordan easily.

We could add Ryan Anderson and the Clippers add Willie Warren.

We do not want nor need Turkoglu. If Hedo can connect easily with Griffin and Jordan, then he can easily connect with Bass and Howard. Acquiring Howard was the only way that we would have been willing to take on Turk anyway. Howard doesn't want to be, so we have no reason to take on Turk. Enjoy him

Dezmondballins3 · Post #15 » by **Dezmondballins3** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 2:07 am

jflipclip wrote:Big upgrade. Another threat, depending on how well he's recovered from his injury.

EDIT: Also I wonder what this means for Aminu

It means they think he is not ready yet but as for his suture it means nothing it's only a 3 year deal for Butler

playaloc916 · Post #16 » by **playaloc916** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 2:19 am

I'm not mad at this signing. I just hope that Tough Juice has healed completely and isn't still bothered by his injury. Most of us probably wanted Prince, so I really don't know wtf management was thinking if they only offered him a one year deal. That's like a slap in the face.

At least we have a pretty strong starting lineup now. Finally the SF spot is no longer a glaring weakness.

Ranma · Post #17 » by **Ranma** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 8:08 am

I agree with the sentiment that he's a bit overpaid especially given his injury concerns, but with Prince unexpectedly re-signing with Detroit because they had to significantly overpay to keep him, Olshey paid market value for whom most considered to be the best SF in free agency.

I appreciate that Caron Butler left money on the table to join us even as I read elsewhere that his personal business dealing allow him to do so. He's talented and a good character player who actually has faith in this team succeeding. Listen to his interview with NBA TV upon signing with the Clippers.

He's basically the glue guy we've long been searching for provided he stays healthy. Sure, there are risks with this signing but weighing the pros and cons of this signing, I'd say the benefits easily outweigh the risk, particularly since it's only a 3-year deal. I'd equate this deal to the same level of the Mobley signing back in the day, which provided us with the stability to improve in other areas of the roster.

I, like most of us, may have preferred signing Tayshaun Prince but given how things shook out in free agency thus far, I think we made the best move available to us with regards to our SF position. Here's a thumbnail scouting report on Caron Butler from a profile page:

ASSETS: One of the most complete players in the game: a top-tier scorer, excellent defender, above-average rebounder, and a good passer & superb free-throw shooter. Versatile, and plays bigger than his height.

FLAWS: Injury-prone. Commits his share of turnovers. Not a very good three-point shooter.

CAREER POTENTIAL: All-Star swingman.

The Sports Forecaster: Caron Butler

Ranma · Post #18 » by **Ranma** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 9:25 am

mkwest wrote:Ramona is now saying we only offered Tayshaun a year deal...

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Los Angeles (12/8/11)

The Clippers had pursued both Butler and Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince this week. The Clippers discussed two- and three-year deals with Prince, according to a league source, but he ultimately elected to re-sign with the Pistons on a four-year, $27 million deal, according to ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher.

It was previously reported that the Clippers had only offered Prince a one-year deal, but a source later said that was incorrect.

Caron Butler goes to Clippers

donemilio21 wrote:anybody know what our offer was to Prince?
If it was similar to Butler, why would he reject it?

Clippers reportedly only offered 2 or 3 years and likely less money than what was initially offered to Butler ($7 million per), so he took the 4-year overpaid deal to return with the Pistons, which prompted the Clippers to up their offer to Caron in order to seal the deal instead of running the risk of pursuing dwindling SF options in free agency: Battier committing to Heat, Hill narrowing focus to Knicks and Suns, Jefferson amnestied but up for bidding, McGrady signing with Hawks, and Kirilenko dangling the leverage of not coming over unless he gets a contract significantly higher than what he's getting overseas.

illastrate · Post #19 » by **illastrate** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 9:56 am

Clips offered Prince a 3yr deal, probably close to what Butler got. Prince didn't want to go back home, citing distractions at home being an issue.

Did we overpay for Butler? A little bit. But generally, in Free agency, you have to overpay to snag a player. It's a good signing. He's a HUGE upgrade over Gomes. Everyone knows Aminu is not ready. If Gomes isn't amnestied, bump Aminu to 2nd string.

As for FA in 2012, we'll have more than enough money for a max slot if we amnestied Gomes. Even more so if we waited and amnestied Mo Williams.

Post #20 » by **mkwest** » Fri Dec 9, 2011 3:40 pm

illastrate wrote:Clips offered Prince a 3yr deal, probably close to what Butler got. Prince didn't want to go back home, citing distractions at home being an issue.

Did we overpay for Butler? A little bit. But generally, in Free agency, you have to overpay to snag a player. It's a good signing. He's a HUGE upgrade over Gomes. Everyone knows Aminu is not ready. If Gomes isn't amnestied, bump Aminu to 2nd string.

As for FA in 2012, we'll have more than enough money for a max slot if we amnestied Gomes. Even more so if we waited and amnestied Mo Williams.

We offered a 3-year deal? I thought it was only for 1 year.