Jared Butler scouting report: Could he go from the national champs to the Toronto Raptors?
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors draft plans might need some slight adjusting after Monday night, as Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, and the Baylor Bears throttled a previously undefeated Gonzaga team in order to win the program’s first national championship. The Jared Butler scouting report just got a few more interesting chapters added to it.
Despite an intimidating crew of scorers in Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert on the other side, it was the dynamic backcourt duo of Butler and Mitchell that played an instrumental role in limiting the Bulldogs’ high-powered offense on the way to victory.
In his third season with the Bears, Butler led the team in scoring by averaging 16.7 points per game with some sterling efficiency numbers. If NBA front offices value production in March, they will certainly be interested in his services.
Butler’s draft stock has continuously shot up this season, and that rise could come to a crescendo in the coming days. Butler making a second All-Big 12 team while being named a consensus All-American and Most Oustanding Player of the Final Four has cemented him as one of the top point guards in the 2021 NBA Draft class.
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While ESPN views him as just the No. 26 player in the class and fifth-best point guard, Sports Illustrated has him ranked 20th overall, while Tankathon, Butler’s biggest fans, has him ranked 16th overall, one spot above Mitchell.
If the Raptors end up getting a pick near the end of the lottery or middle of the first round, does Butler make a ton of sense for them? Toronto will need to examine what he does well and how he could fit into the offense.