NBA Comparison: Christian Wood

Strengths: Upside, upside upside … Butler’s insane length combined with great shooting touch and range give him a great deal of intrigue as a long term prospect … Displayed the ability to consistently knock down the 3 ball and shows potential as a floor spacing big… Shows a willingness to battle and fight despite his obvious lack of muscle … “Wiry strong” player who shows solid agility and mobility … Has the length, quickness and timing to become a high level defender and rim protector … Shows great lateral foot speed to defend smaller players on the perimeter … Shows some ability to pull up on outside shots with excellent form. A very positive sign for his ability to develop into a scorer … On outside shots, gets a wide base, gets his feet set and has a consistent and fluid stroke with range out to college three … Solid shot blocking numbers with 1.2 per game considering his limited minutes (19 mpg) … Three point percentage was 39.3 on the season, hitting 33-84 of his three point shots … A good athlete with excellent balance and body control for a 7 footer …

Weaknesses: At just 174.4 lbs, Butler is rail thin and will need time before he can hold a position in the paint and be expected to play in the post at the NBA level … It is difficult to know how a player like Butler will be able to move and handle added weight. Some bigs put weight on and their bodies begin to break down with bad knees or foot injuries … Ideally Butler should put on an additional 50-60 lbs, which will need to be done over a few seasons … While having a great deal of defensive potential. He may struggle to see the floor in the NBA for some time due to his lack of physical strength … Averaged just 5.9 ppg in 19 minutes per game for Florida State … Illustrating his lack of physicality, he got to the line just 25 times in 31 games, converting just 11 of those attempts … Shot 44% from the free throw line. A concerning stat considering he is known as a high level shooter. Granted on such a low volume, it’s important not to read into the low percentage too heavily … Probably 2-3 seasons away from being able to contribute meaningful minutes and begin to impact games at the NBA level … Lacks much of a post game at this point, and struggles to score after contact, obviously a function of lack of physicality …

Outlook: Did he jump the gun turning pro too early? Butler is a player that was projected as a future lottery pick that is seen as a borderline first rounder for the 2022 NBA Draft … He made the surprising decision to keep his name in this year’s draft and likely becomes a long term project for an NBA team … He has a long ways to go with his body and skills and is a candidate to struggle for his first few seasons … Some players take a predictable career path of developing and struggling with their first team, losing confidence and hitting rock bottom, before moving on to a new team, a fresh start, and finally finding their confidence and game with their second or third stop … So a team obviously runs the risk of expending resources and developing Butler for another team, but the upside and chance to find a floor spreading big with great upside remains intriguing … The NBA G League gives Butler a solid outlook as he can hone his skills while earning a salary playing professionally …

Notes: Native of Greenville, South Carolina … Measured: 6’11.75” barefoot, 7’0.75” in shoes, 9’4.0” standing reach, 174.4 lbs, 7’2.25” wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine …

Aran Smith 6/14/22