Clippers to meet with Caron Butler

The Clippers and free-agent forward Caron Butler will have a face-to-face meeting Monday at the team's Playa Vista training facility. "Yes, Caron is going to come and visit with the Clippers tomorrow," Butler's agent, Raymond Brothers, said in a phone interview Sunday night. Butler, who played for the Dallas Mavericks last season, is the sort of small forward the Clippers hope can fill that void for them. He averaged 15 points per game last season. But Butler played in just 29 games after having surgery last January to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon. But over his nine-year career, Butler, 31, has averaged 16.6 points and shot 44.1 from the field, 31.9 from three-point range. Butler, who is 6-foot-7, 228-pounds, also has drawn interest from the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers have about 13 million to spend wisely on a free agent because they are under the salary cap. Free-agent small forward Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons also is someone who interests the Clippers. "There's interest with Tayshaun in the Clippers, also," Prince's agent Bill Duffy said. "That's definitely the case." Duffy said he plans to talk with the Clippers "in the next few days" to see where things stand and to possibly set up a visit. The NBA informed team executives over the weekend that they would be allowed to have direct contact with free agents starting at 7 a.m. PST on Monday. The free-agency period begins Friday, which is the first day teams can sign or make trades provided the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified. Broderick Turner