Q&A With Caron Butler

Q&A With Caron Butler

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For Caron Butler, the season is just starting. With designs on becoming an All-Star sooner rather than later, Butler is pushing himself through a grueling summer of conditioning to prepare himself for the 2005-06 season.

Butler took time out Wednesday to discuss a number of topics, including this week's referendum vote, the return of Phil Jackson, next week's NBA draft and Butler's future with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here's what Butler had to say on those topics: Since you maintain a strong connection with your hometown, let's start out with a local issue. What are your feelings about the budget referendum passing Tuesday, ensuring that Racine Unified School District high school sports will be played for at least one more year? "Playing basketball kept me off the streets. It kept me busy. It kept me occupied. If I would have just been going to school, the majority of my time after school would have been out on the streets. And you know what happens with kids with too much time on their hands.

"I'm very happy it happened (the referendum passed) and I wish I could have been more involved. I'm happy they got it resolved for this year and, hopefully, they get it resolved for years to come. Kids need something to do."

Who do you see the Milwaukee Bucks drafting with the first overall pick next Tuesday - Andrew Bogut or Marvin Williams? "I personally would take Marvin Williams just because of his upside. I've seen Bogut and his potential is good and everything, but with Marvin Williams, you see how good he is now and he's only going to get that much better. His athleticism is unbelievable and with his tenacity and intensity on the court, he has a great future in the game.

"It'll be interesting to see what happens. They may very well take Andrew Bogut, but if it were my pick, I would take Marvin Williams."

What are your feelings about Phil Jackson returning to coach the Lakers? "I played under a lot of great coaches in my career - Max Good at Maine Central Institute, Jim Calhoun at Connecticut, Pat Riley when I first came to Miami, Stan Van Gundy and now the guru of all basketball coaches, Phil Jackson. That's unbelievable. I'm real excited.'' JT: How much interaction have you had with Jackson since he returned as Lakers coach? Butler: "I was at the press conference and I also was at the gym when he came in the next day. We were working out some draftees and he was telling me how he wanted to use me. He wanted me to continue to work on my ballhandling. I'm going to handle the ball a lot, just like I did my first year in Miami (2002-03).

"It's kind of like Scottie Pippen played in the triangle offense, bringing the ball up and doing a lot of things with it, so I'm going to be able to use my versatility."

JT: Jackson said prior to taking the job that he considered the Lakers' roster to be unappealing. Could you envision yourself being included in a trade as Jackson tries to upgrade the talent level? Butler: "There's always the possibility of trades. You've got to look at the game. It's a business before anything. No one is safe. I think that the only player who is safe in the whole NBA is probably LeBron James because of his marketability and everything. But anybody in the NBA can be traded at anytime, as you saw last summer with the Shaquille O'Neal trade. No one is untouchable other than No. 23 with Cleveland (James).

"All I'm worried about right now is making sure I'm ready and, mentally and physically, I'm prepared for anything.'' JT: Obviously, the trade of Shaquille O'Neal greatly impacted the Lakers last year. But how did this team not even make the playoffs? Butler: "I thought we would make the playoffs, but we had a couple pretty tough breaks. Me, Lamar (Odom) and Kobe (Bryant) only played together on the court for probably 40 games this year due to injuries. I feel that with the three of us together, who knows what would have happened? Who knows what would have happened if Rudy (Tomjanovich) was still the coach? You know, there's a lot of ifs and what could have happened and what would have happened, but I think we could be a real good team again.'' JT: You had an up-and-down first year with the Lakers. It seemed like you would have a 30-point, 10-rebound game one night and then follow that up by maybe going 3-for-9 from the floor. What were you fighting through? Butler: "It was just trying to get a rhythm. We were trying to incorporate the triangle and some nights, it worked well. But then some nights, the things we did that worked well, we wouldn't do again. I'd have 30-point games and then other nights, I would have 12 or 10.

"It was all about getting comfortable with the triangle. But once we got comfortable with it at the end of the season, the last 15 or 16 games, I averaged like 24 points and nine rebounds. So I was getting real familiar with things and picking and choosing my spots. That's to show you what's going to come next year.'' JT: Kobe Bryant is seen by a lot of people as a prime example of a selfish, egocentric player, the likes of which have tarnished the NBA's image. What is your perspective on him? Butler: "Kobe is a good dude on and off the court. He's a great teammate. We go out to eat, he invites me to his kid's party and I invite him to mine. He's a real funny."</div>

Source