The results are in from Caron Butler’s MRI, and the news isn’t good. He actually underwent surgery today for his ruptured patellar tendon, and is expected to miss the rest of the season. From the Miami Herald:
Dallas Mavericks forward Caron Butler is expected to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon.
The operation was performed by team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal at Texas Sports Medicine.
Link.
Dallas isn’t winning any NBA titles with a small forward rotation consisting of Shawn Marion and Brian Cardinal. With all due respect to The Matrix and The Custodian, Mark Cuban is going to have to make a move. The good news? Butler’s 10 million dollar contract is expiring at the end of this season, making him very tradable.
Suggested solution #1:
The Bobcats appear to be going nowhere fast, and the aging Jackson has two more years left on his contract. Charlotte could be interested in a deal that would open up cap space for this offseason and create more minutes to develope younger players. Although he’ll take the occasional ill-advised shot and pitch his share of on-court fits, Stack is a very good defender who can also put the ball in the basket. He’s a clutch performer with championship experience. If the Mavs could pull this one off I think they’d actually be a better team than they were with Butler.
Suggested solution #2:
Like the Bobcats, the Sixers are going nowhere fast (unless you consider fighting for the eighth seed in the East going somewhere), but they’re on the hook for a couple big salaries over the next three or four seasons. Andre Iguodala is set to make 12 million this year and is under contract through the 2013/14 season. If the Sixers want to be anything but mediocre they’re going to have to rebuild their roster. Rumors of an Iggy deal have been floating around for a while now, and supposedly the Sixers are open to letting him go. I’d prefer Jackson if I’m Dallas, but acquiring Iggy wouldn’t be a bad move.
Suggested solution #3:
Jamison doesn’t defend like Jackson or Iguodala, but he could certainly replace Caron Butler’s offensive punch. The Cavs would be losing their best player and getting nothing but money in return, but at this point they should be in pingpong-ball mode anyway. Dallas could probably throw in a pick or two to sweeten the deal.
