Jared Butler arrived in Utah with high hopes as a rookie but found himself mostly relegated to the G League or the Jazz's bench. After helping Baylor win a national championship, his NBA debut started with more of a whimper than it did a bang.
However, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News, Butler left his exit interview with Jazz GM Justin Zanik this past week "optimistic" that his role will grow next season.
“I am, personally,” Butler told Todd. “And I think there is some overall uncertainty, from just an NBA standpoint. You know how summers are with the NBA. So, with that I think it was encouraging and I do feel hopeful coming from the meeting.”
Although Butler appeared in 42 games, the former second-round draft pick only averaged 8.6 minutes per frame and 3.8 points. As Todd writes, the point guard earned 10 minutes or more in just 11 games.
In Utah's Game 5 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Quin Snyder inserted Butler late in the fourth quarter after Donovan Mitchell exited with an injury. That exposure, even in garbage time, will hopefully innoculate Butler to the high intensity of the NBA-playoff environment.
The Jazz hope to continue being a perennial force in the Western Conference playoffs and depending on what happens with Mitchell's future, Butler's career could one day burn very bright in Utah.
At 21 years old, Butler is still young with his whole NBA career ahead of him. The Jazz didn't use him much as a rookie but it sounds like that could change in 2022-23 and beyond.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.
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