Trail Blazers Sign Center John Butler to Two-Way Contract

The Blazers shored up their frontcourt depth on Monday evening.

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The Trail Blazers have shored up their frontcourt depth by signing former Florida State center John Butler to their second open two-way contract spot, as first reported by The Athletic.

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Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

The Portland Trail Blazers plan to sign former Florida State product John Butler on a two-way NBA contract, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. The 7-foot-1 big man spent summer league and preseason with the Pelicans and now lands a roster spot.

Oct 18, 2022

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Butler went undrafted in June after his freshman season at FSU and was originally signed to a two-way deal with the Pelicans following Summer League, but was waived. For whatever it's worth, ESPN's predraft rankings, which were done in part by Mike Schmitz before he took a job in May as an assistant GM under Joe Cronin, pegged Butler as the 16th-best power forward in the class and 67th-best overall prospect.

Butler's Summer League stint with New Orleans was highlighted by a game in which he scored 25 points on 9-of-9 shooting including hitting all six of his three-point attempts.

Unlike most two-way signings, Butler will likely have an opportunity to earn real minutes due to Portland's thin frontcourt rotation. The other center they recently signed to a two-way deal, Olivier Sarr, is currently out with a wrist injury, but before he got hurt, he was poised to compete for backup center minutes behind Jusuf Nurkić, alongside Drew Eubanks and Trendon Watford.

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