Cavs should keep track of Caron Butler but there may be no space this summer

The Cleveland Cavaliers may seek out Caron Butler sooner or later.

Caron Butler, better known as”Tuff Juice”, should be on the Cleveland Cavaliers shortlist of veterans to sign this summer.

Butler, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons, played 17 games for the Sacramento Kings during their drama-filled 2015-2016 season before reaching a contract buyout with the Kings in July.

For the other 13 seasons, Butler was a touch and clutch player who could score in isolation, post-up or spot-up situations. He was consistently able attack the rim, find the open man and knock down three-point shots. He’s also been solid at hitting long twos. He’s also an efficient free-throw shooter.

He’s also able to play tough and savvy defense while bringing energy and attitude to the game.

Essentially, he’s a mix of Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Dahntay Jones albeit it in what will be eventually a 38-year-old body.

For the Cavs, his age will be the question, not his ability to play. However, with players like Jason Terry and Vince Carter making an impact after their 38th birthday, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Butler will be able to perform at a necessary level.

Butler has spent the past year making occasional appearances on televised sports broadcasts. He recently spoke to Adam Caparell, Managing Editor of Complex Sports and said he would return to the NBA play for one of three contenders: the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, or the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If I had to make my guess about his personal preference from the trio would be the Cavs, based on his comments about LeBron James (from the same article):

"“If you look at his player efficiency, and everything, you put LeBron James on any team that didn’t make the playoffs and they make the playoffs. And I went as far as saying he could go to a collegiate team—and I went with the Tar Heels because they just won a championship—and could put them in contention. If you have LeBron James on your squad, he’s going to change your complexion. And people thought I was crazy. But when you look at the roster that was assembled his rookie season, look what happened. When he came back from Miami, look what happened. He asserted himself with a lottery team. Go do your research, go look at it, and revisit it.”"

"“Listen, LeBron James could be the MVP any season. The best all-around player I’ve ever seen play the game.”"

Strong words. Besides James, Butler would be a forward who could keep the ball moving, knock down the open shot and do a few things in isolation as well. On switches with James, he could post up smaller players, which makes him different from Shumpert, Jefferson and D. Jones in terms of his play style. Defensively, he’s able to switch and guard at least three positions (shooting guard, both forward positions).

In the locker room, Butler would be a strong veteran voice. With 881 regular season games and 65 playoff games under his belt, Butler has a wealth of experience to offer in practice and in-game.

But will the Cavs have space for him?

Let’s just get down to it. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have an interesting offseason. Kyle Korver, Deron Williams, Derrick Williams and Dahntay Jones will all be free agents. Out of the four, Korver and Derrick Williams have the best chance of being re-signed. Jones could be back, as the Cavs like the dynamic he brings to the locker room.

Deron Williams is unlikely to continue playing in such a limited role and he and the Utah Jazz have mutual interest.

That leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers with a spot to fill at point guard and forward or center, depending on which position that Channing Frye plays next season. If the Cleveland Cavaliers should decide that Frye doesn’t have the foot speed to keep up with players on the perimeter, which is feasible, he may continue to be the Cleveland Cavaliers backup center.

Nonetheless, with LeBron James’ ability to dominate at the power forward position, there’s always a need for a low-key, do-it-all forward on the perimeter, a la Jefferson. The Cleveland Cavaliers have Turkish forward Cedi Osman coming over from the EuroLeague, where he averaged 14.8 points and 1.6 steals in 25.4 minutes per games. However, the difference between the speed, strength and athleticism of players in the NBA and the players in the EuroLeague should give pause to those thinking he could make a similar impact in his first season with the Cavs.

If he could, it would be amazing. It’s just not likely.

There are two-way contracts that teams can use for players that are technically on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster but spend most of their time playing with the Cavs’ NBA D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge.

Per Basketball Insiders:

"“A ‘Two-Way Player’ will provide services primarily to the NBA team’s D-League affiliate, and can be on the NBA team’s Active or Inactive List for up to 45 days during the NBA regular season, as well as on the NBA team’s roster prior to the start of D-League training camp (including during NBA training camp) and after the conclusion of the D-League regular season.”"

This is the method with which Osman should develop for at least one season before trying to earn his way up to the Cavs bench.

In the meantime, the Cleveland Cavaliers list of forwards is small.

Former Cav Omri Casspi is an interesting option but he broke his thumb before after being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in February and after being waived and signed by the Timberwolves, Casspi made two total threes in 13 games.

It’s possible he could be re-signed by the Wolves and though it would be nice to get that pesky playoff bug off of his back, he may not inspire much confidence from the Cavs with the way the injury bug has hit him lately.

P.J. Tucker, who currently plays for the Toronto Raptors is a player the Cavs probably would like to keep away from the Raptors but the Raptors and Tucker seem to have bonded. Toronto also has Tucker’s Bird Rights, which matter because they can re-sign Tucker to his $5.3 million or a higher figure while the Cleveland Cavaliers

There’s also Nick Young, dynamic this past season under new head coach Luke Walton. He handled the ball, played defense and shot the ball well from behind-the-line. He would be an interesting fit on the Cavs with his affinity for three-point shots but he’d probably be too pricey for the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign. He was paid $5.3 million last season, with a contract signed before the NBA’s salary cap increase, and improved his play last season. That’s money.

With that in mind free agent forward Butler’s name should jump to the top of the list of forwards for the Cavs.

What would work against Butler is the Cavs thoughts about Jones. This is what general manager David Griffin had to say about Jones, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.

"“I think what Dahntay is is the voice we needed in the locker room,” general manager David Griffin said Wednesday. “My fault. I think we underestimated the amount that really mattered. He was a big part of what we did in the playoffs because there was never any slippage. No matter who you are Dahntay is going to make it clear that you’re not holding up your end of the bargain. We missed that.”"

His familiarity and chemistry will be a big part in the Cavs decision of whether Butler, who is the better shooter, scorer and playmaker, will be signed over him.

Nonetheless, I’d expect Butler’s name to the Cavs’ short list of free agent forwards if they fail to retain Korver or Williams.

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What do you think of the Cleveland Cavaliers signing Caron Butler? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.

*All stats courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com