<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Most of the Spurs already had left the practice floor Thursday afternoon, and Jackie Butler was ready to join them. He started to head to the locker room, then stopped abruptly and turned around. "See that water," Butler said, pointing to the layer of sweat pooling where he had just been standing on the court. "That shows how hard I'm working." Butler smiled. If players were judged on perspiration alone, the 21-year-old center might be All-NBA. Since coming to town six weeks before training camp, Butler has lost more than 20 pounds and dropped his body-fat content from 28 1/2 percent to close to 18. "He's someone who has to continue to work on his conditioning," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Because he's not going to be able to do what he's got to do if his body won't allow it. But he's on the right track." The Spurs considered Butler a work in progress when they signed him to a three-year, $7 million contract in July. Butler's production last season in New York ? he averaged 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 13.5 minutes in 55 games ? coupled with his soft hands and footwork, showed potential. Team officials think he'll learn to take better advantage of his skills, given time and structure. Facing Miami last week, Butler ran the floor well, made a bank shot over Shaquille O'Neal and threw a nifty pass under the basket that surprised even Tim Duncan. But as good as he looked, Butler struggled the next night in Houston. "His best years are going to be ahead of him," Popovich said. "I think most of his playing time in the initial part of the season is going to be in practice learning the system, learning what a work ethic is day in and day out and what it takes to play at this level." To aid that process, Popovich gave Butler a DVD of Moses Malone last week. Malone's Hall of Fame career ended with the Spurs, and Popovich thinks Butler resembles the legendary big man. Butler's first high school coach said the same. "When you look at those two guys, their bodies are real similar," Popovich said. "It sounds funny but the more weight (Butler) loses, the less body fat he has and the longer he starts looking. "We showed him the tape and he got a big kick out of it. But I said the deal there is relentless effort. You've got to keep padding those stats like Moses did. "You want to be a relentless rebounder, run the floor, be where the ball is all the time. Don't worry so much about scoring. You already do that." </div> Source
