Hornets Hype

So what the hell is happening with Rasual Butler? And how will the Hornets react? How does a guy go from being a key bench player, a sometimes starter, to the guy wearing a suit, the position on the end of the bench that as early as the beginning of this season was reserved for rookies who’d barely seen any time, if at all, on an NBA floor.

A season over and gone and now he’s the one sitting in the back of an SUV, a gun on the floor, the cops coming for him, and him seeing how low he’s fallen. While I give Rasual a lot of credit for self-cognizance, it’s nonetheless a haunting image of personal tragedy. Thereafter, part of Coach Scott’s response to the situation was: “he had some personal problems [this year] that were going on that kind of caused him not to be with us, so to speak, and all that affected him.” Hmmm. It was the first I heard of it. While I feel for Rasual, I have to wonder how the team will react. They’re gearing up to win a championship. And no matter Byron’s relationship with him, it’s Bower, Shinn, and the team’s lawyers who will decide the response.

We don’t know what Butler’s specific contract says, but section 16(a) of the Uniform Player Contract provides:

The Team may terminate this Contract upon written notice to the Player if the Player shall: (i) at any time, fail, refuse, or neglect to conform his personal conduct to standards of good citizenship, good moral character (defined here to mean not engaging in acts of moral turpitude, whether or not such acts would constitute a crime).

Section 16(g) provides:

Upon any termination of this Contract by the Player, all pay Compensation shall cease on the date of termination, Team to pay the Player’s Compensation to said date.

Rumor mills said the team had been looking to shop Rasual and his remaining two years and $7.5 mil for quite a while. Could this be the easy out? The trickiest part, of course is proof. You can’t just drop a guy if you don’t know for sure he did something wrong. He’s accused of waving a gun after an altercation at a group of men and cocking the hammer back. Butler said he didn’t do anything wrong, and specifically denied cocking it at anyone. But was he waving it around? Did he pull it out? We need also to understand the context. Was he fooling around, defending himself, or just straight thugging? These are key questions that the team will need answers to if they’re going to take that much money away from him. The last thing they want to do is get in a lawsuit with him over whether his termination was wrongful under his contract. But if they can justify it, it would help their salary cap situation right? Fill his spot with someone like Adam Haluska, Shaun Pruitt, or some other undrafted free agent who they can pay something more like $400,000 a year. Pretty good bargain for someone who wasn’t getting any burn anyway.

On the other hand, do the Hornets have a responsibility to help him if he is having personal problems? The one answer, as suggested above, is no. It’s a business. And that’s how it is. Cutthroat. But this year we’ve seen a Hornets team that became more than just a team; they became a family. They were devastated when they lost Bobby midseason, but were able to turn around and welcome Mike James and Bonzi with open arms. So how would they react if Butler was cut? Would they blame Rasual? Would they blame the management? Would it change how the team views each other and the bonds they share? What do they know about Rasual’s off-the court issues to which Byron alluded? There are also the facts that Rasual is a team player, taking his benching with class, and being generally supportive of the team’s direction. He also reportedly has done plenty of good works, like flying supplies to Africa at his own cost.

Only the team knows what they’re going to do in free agency. But if cutting Butler under the conduct clause gets us room to bring in Corey Maggette, do it. Monta Ellis, sure. If it will completely push us into contention for a title, do it. Because to bring in someone equally troubled, and not necessarily a good fit, like Ron Artest, would be hypocritical; as would it be cut Rasual to bring in someone who’s unproven and/or unreliable, like Ben Gordon. What I’m saying is that if we cut Rasual, we better get our money’s worth, not straddle ourselves with debt on a stupid risk. Sure take anyone on a $5 mil mid-level exception, but that’s a different story. I guess what I’m really saying is that cutting a guy who is having personal problems for making a stupid mistake is not the best moral choice, and if you’re going to cross that line, you better be sure it’s worth it.

I expect the Hornets to go slow. But I feel for Rasual. I really do. Without more information, though, I feel like I should give him the benefit of the doubt. I believe he did a dumb thing and regrets it. I know some people have already labeled him a thug or this or that. But before anyone calls him out, ask what you may have done between the hours of 1 and 7 a.m. outside of any drinking establishment at some time in your life. My record’s not spotless. I’ve made mistakes. I’d hate to see any of them ruin my career. So that’s my response as a human. Give him another chance. Bring him back into the fold. But I get that the Hornets are in it to win. Period. I wouldn’t want any less. But if they let him go, I hope it’s with done with decency. I hope they give him some kind of exit support. And I hope they recommend him to other teams as someone who with a fresh start could flourish. It’d be the right thing to do.

But until we know more, we just have to wait and see.