It seemed like the Milwaukee Bucks might have had a turning point type of game when they defeated the Golden State Warriors a couple of weeks ago but it hasn't turned out that way as they are just 2-5 since that big win and are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with their 12-20 record. Many people feel that one of the Bucks big issues is a lack of leadership and it seemed like they were going to solve that by trading for Caron Butler but they no longer have interest in Butler, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Butler signed with the Sacramento Kings this offseason to be a leader for a team that seemed like it might have a lot of clashing personalities but he also was expected to be part of the rotation. So far Omri Casspi has run away with the backup small forward spot leaving Butler out of the rotation as he has only appeared in nine games and played a grand total of 14 minutes in December so far.
The Kings have reportedly promised Butler that they will trade him in order for him to get more playing time but that has yet to happen. Immediately after this was reported Milwaukee emerged as the frontrunner as Butler has played there before, been a teammate of Jason Kidd, and it is Butler's home town but now they seem to have backed out.
The Kings are reportedly still intent on trading Butler but now it seems like a trade will take a little bit longer to develop. There is no word as to why the Bucks no longer want to trade for Butler and there have also been no updates as to which teams might have interest in him now. One can speculate that Butler would like to go to a team that has minutes for him and has a shot at the playoffs if it were up to him but what team that might be is unclear.
Butler is in his 14th season in the NBA and is known as a consummate pro who is also a very good teammate. While many playoff type teams would love to have a guy like Butler on their roster it wouldn't make sense to trade for him unless they have playing time available. Butler can still play and he is on a minimum contract so a trade will likely happen at some point, we just have to wait to see where he will end up.
