The Washington Wizards have finalized their roster, adding 11-year NBA veteran Rasual Butler. The move means the Wizards’ 15-man roster is set in stone as the team prepares for their season opener Wednesday against the Miami Heat in the Sunshine State.
The Wizards waived Xavier Silas, Damion James and John Lucas Saturday as well.
With limited shooting on the wing to start the season because of injuries, Butler brings just that to this Wizards team. He is a knock down shooter from beyond the arc.
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Last season, Butler played for the Indiana Pacers. He played in 52 games for the Eastern Conference Finalists, shooting 41.9 percent (31 of 74) from the three-point line. Butler has been able to stay around in this league for so long because of his veteran leadership and his ability to be a good three-point shooter. He is a 36 percent career shooter from beyond the arc for his career.
He shot the ball well in the preseason, connecting on 40 percent of his three-point shots.
Butler was not even in the league in 2012-13, but fought his way back and after being a nice contributor for the Pacers last season, found another job in the nation’s capital and is going to play a role in the team’s early season success.
There is a possibility Butler could be one of the first guys off the bench Wednesday night and the beginning of the season moving forward.
With Martell Webster still out after offseason back surgery, Bradley Beal set to miss the beginning of the year after breaking his wrist and Glen Rice Jr.’s status uncertain for Wednesday because of a sprained ankle, the Wizards have limited options at the shooting guard and small forward position.
Paul Pierce will start at small forward and I suspect either Otto Porter or Garrett Temple will start at shooting guard so that means the Wizards are going to turn to Butler to come in and be an offensive threat on the perimeter.
Butler should fit in nicely with what the Wizards do on offense. The Wizards’ offense is predicated on John Wall‘s ability to get penetration and find open teammates. Butler is going to get a lot of wide open looks because that’s just what Wall does. He gets perimeter players open three-point shots.
The fact that Butler shot over 41 percent from three-point territory last season on a team with nowhere near as good of a distributor as Wall should bode well now that he will be getting open threes regularly.
I am sure the Wizards could have gone out and found a young guy that may have brought more to the table, but Butler has been around the league, playing for five different teams in his career, and will know his role while bringing excellent veteran leadership. Sometimes you can’t put a price tag on professionalism.
Butler’s contract is a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, according to the Washington Post.