When the Milwaukee Bucks and veteran swingman Caron Butler officially agreed to a buyout, many pundits and those close to the situation expected Butler to join the Miami Heat.
With the Heat’s style of play, they can always use another shooter. Plus, Butler is very familiar with Miami. He was selected by the Heat with the 10th overall pick in the 2002 draft out of Connecticut and spent his two seasons there before he was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Shaquille O’Neal trade.
Instead, Butler chose to sign with another contender, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Riley on Caron:"We reached out to him. But he was very definitive with what he wanted. I don't think it's something we could have promised."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 2, 2014
More Riley on Caron:"And we're pretty deep. When you got James Jones and Udonis Haslem, Rashard Lewis in those positions, they're waiting,"
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 2, 2014
In 34 games for the Bucks this season, Butler averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.1 minutes per game.
Butler is expected to make his Thunder debut Tuesday.