A decorated junior in his 3 years at Baylor, Jared Butler led the Bears to the 2021 NCAA championship. As a junior, Butler averaged 16.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.3 RPG, 2 SPG, 0.4 BPG, and 2.8 TOPG on shooting splits of 47/42/78. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Jared Butler
Height/Weight: 6’4/ 193
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’4/ 8’2 ½
Hand size: 8 ½
Position: G
College/ country: Baylor
Tools: Shiftiness, playmaking, shooting
Pros:
- Crafty and acrobatic slasher
- Much improved jump shot form from freshman year- quick release
- Good spot up shooter
- Good touch on his floater
- Excellent vision- always plays with his head up
- High IQ defender
- Good lateral quickness
- Excellent recovery ability defensively
- Thrives in exploiting P&R defenses
- Comfortable drawing fouls and absorbing contact
Cons:
- Heart issue forced him out of Alabama entering his freshman year
- Low release on jump shot makes it hard to shoot over defenses
- Needs to add strength
- Lacks explosiveness
- Underwhelming frame/length
- Strictly below the rim finisher
Overall:
Jared Butler is a mistake-free point guard that thrives as a playmaker, scorer, and defender. While he lacks a great physical profile with an average frame and not much explosiveness, Butler’s IQ and ability to control the game make him one of the most intriguing and well-rounded guards in the draft. You won’t ever see Jared Butler look down while he dribbles, which allows him to see everything happening on the floor at all times, and that is a big part of why he rarely makes errant passes. Butler runs a clean pick & roll, finds cutters well, and he finds shooters & off-ball movers with ease. As a shooter, he struggles to shoot over defenders due to his low release point, but he has deep range and a reliable shooting stroke, so his 3 point percentage should rarely ever dip below league-average. Butler was unable to participate in the NBA Combine on-court activities, but he should still be a late-first round, very early second round draft target that can be a day-one rotation guard.
NBA Comparison: Kirk Hinrich, Jalen Brunson, Fred VanVleet
Projected draft range: 20-38
Games seen: Iowa State (1/2), OU 1/6, @ TCU, Texas Tech 1/16, Auburn, Texas 2/3, Hartford
Expected role: Mistake-free two-way point guard that can fit into any scheme.
Unplayable if: Highly unlikely, but if his jump shot becomes too blockable, or he can’t shoot well enough over defenses, his shooting impact would disappoint.
Exceeds expectations if: Finishing translates and he can continue to exploit big men on switches, and he can shoot over closeouts with ease to be an above-average shooter.
Best fits:
- Chicago Bulls
- Milwaukee Bucks
- LA Lakers
- LA Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
Videos:
Audio scouting report
