Last season, Utah Jazz rookie point guard Jared Butler only averaged 8.6 minutes, and that was mainly in garbage time. Butler never cracked the rotation, but even when he did, the 40th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft didn’t look like a player with much control of the game.
This summer has certainly been a testing period for the former Baylor Bear. Butler has appeared in the Salt Lake Summer League and then finished up with the Las Vegas Summer League this past weekend.
Over the two summer league appearances, Butler continues to struggle with his confidence. Small sample size, of course, but over six games, he's averaged nearly 16 points per game but on a disappointing 31.9% shooting.
However, Butler's playmaking ability has been a bright spot while averaging nearly seven assists a game. He has shown a good ability to see the court and find his teammates.
As it stands, the Jazz have six rotation guards ahead of Butler on the depth chart. If the Jazz are able to offload the roster for a full rebuild, Butler may very well slide to the top and get a chance to prove himself with real NBA minutes.
With these scenarios up in the air for the moment, we can only examine Butler for what we know now and the progress he has made over the offseason. He's a great talent and has the upside to be a rotation point guard in the NBA, but he has to improve his shot and his confidence.
The Jazz might soon become a perfect situation for Butler to build on his talent and get the NBA reps to improve his game. But as it stands, he hasn’t proved that he is ready to play serious minutes for a playoff team.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @ArembaczNBA.
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