Butler comes to Washington after stints in OKC and Utah
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Washington Wizards signed Jared Butler to a two-way contract for the 2023-24 NBA season.
Free agent G Jared Butler has agreed on a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Butler has played with Utah and Oklahoma City in his first two NBA seasons.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 24, 2023
Butler is entering his third season in the NBA. The Utah Jazz selected him with the 40th pick in the 2021 draft. He appeared in 42 games for Utah in his rookie year and averaged 3.8 points in 8.6 minutes per game. Butler was waived by the Jazz before last season and signed with the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G-League affiliate. His efficient scoring and shot creation earned a two-way contract with the OKC Thunder in March. He played just 6 games for OKC, including a career-high 25 point game in April.
Butler impressed in Summer League with the Thunder. He averaged 20 points per game in Vegas on 50% shooting from the field and 48.3% from three. He torched the Wizards SL squad for 22 points and followed that performance up with a 30-spot against San Antonio.
Butler’s college achievements are among the most distinguished in the NBA. He won the 2021 National Championship with Baylor and took home the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. He also earned a third-team All-American nod in 2021 and first-team All-Big 12 honors in his last two college seasons.
The move comes two weeks after the Wizards signed Eugene Omoruyi to a two-way contract. Butler will take the final two-way spot for DC. Last season, Jordan Goodwin and Jordan Schakel started out as Washington’s two-way players. Goodwin earned a promotion to a regular contract and Schakel was waived in November. Jay Huff and Quenton Jackson took over the two-way spots later in the year. The Wizards waived Jackson to open up Butler’s spot.
The Washington Wizards have waived Quenton Jackson, league sources told @hoopshype.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 24, 2023
Let us know what you think of the Butler signing and what else you’d like to know about the newest Wizard in the comments!