The San Antonio Spurs were thought to have their roster pretty set heading into training camp with maybe one or two spots open. The thought was that the 15th roster spot would come down to Jimmer Fredette and Reggie Williams but the Spurs released their training camp roster on Monday and Rasual Butler was on it, according to Michael Erler of SB Nation, which adds another player to the competition for the backend of the roster.
Butler's deal with San Antonio is likely for the veteran's minimum and also likely provides little to no salary protection but he still has a pretty good shot to make the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Not only do the Spurs like Butler's ability to shoot the three but they also like the work he did with the younger players during pre-camp open gym and they think his leadership could be extremely valuable.
Having said that, the Spurs have plenty of leadership on their roster as one of the older teams in the league and Butler is far from a guarantee to make the final 15 man roster. The Spurs have 12 locks to make their final roster which leaves three spots open. Boban Marjanovic has to be the favorite to get one of the spots after the Spurs brought him over from Europe as he is a big body who they hope could help replace Aron Baynes and Tiago Splitter.
Fredette also has a leg up on making the roster as he has guaranteed money in his contract unlike many of the other guys and the Spurs would likely be able to utilize his incredible shooting ability very well. Butler may be the favorite for that final spot but it will definitely be a competition in camp. Williams might be his toughest competitor as he was a member of the Spurs last season and he has been pretty good so far in his NBA career.
Butler is now 36 years old and entering his 13th NBA season. Butler has played with seven different teams in his career but has always been able to shoot the three. Butler is a career 36 percent shooter from long-range and shot it particularly well last season in Washington when he made 39 percent from three. Butler has the best track record of the guys competing for those final few spots and the Spurs like his leadership so he definitely has a real shot at making the roster but he will have to earn it during training camp and preseason.
