With stints in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas freshly over, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Summer League slate is ripe for evaluation.
One such player who was wholly impressive was upcoming third-year guard Jared Butler, who functioned as one of the team's more consistent players.
In his first game of the summer, Butler played in just 19 minutes and came off the bench, scoring 10 points on three-for-seven shooting. By his second game, he’d already cracked the starting lineup, pouring on 16 points on near-50 percent shooting in 28 full minutes.
Butler then saw back-to-back nine-point performances before taking resting in his sole game versus the Rockets.
Following his hiatus, Butler took advantage of every opportunity.
Against the Wizards, the former Baylor guard poured on 22 points in just 23 minutes of play, shooting eight-for-14 overall and hitting on four of his eight 3-point attempts. He also dished four assists and three rebounds.
In OKC’s final game of the summer on Sunday, Butler totaled a game-high 31 points, nearly willing the team back into the game versus the Spurs singlehandedly. He shot 10-for-19 overall, five-for-nine from beyond the arc and hit all six of his free throw attempts. He also tacked on four rebounds, there steals and one assist.
All-in-all, Butler averaged 16.2 points in six total games, a strong case for him being made the final two-way slot on the primary Thunder roster this upcoming system.
Oklahoma City’s summer league slate is now over. Their next action will be prior to the 2023-24 regular season with a preseason slate.
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