July 26, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY – A virtual afterthought early in the 2005-06 season, Hornets 6-foot-7 swingman Rasual Butler eventually developed into a key member of the club’s rotation, logging 20 starts late in the campaign. Butler’s reward for the finest season (8.7 points per game, 38 percent 3-point shooting, 2.9 rebounds) of his four-year NBA career came Wednesday, when he inked a multi-year contract to remain with the Hornets.

After coming to the Hornets in a trade from Miami, Butler’s 2005-06 slate began in discouraging fashion, with him registering three did not play due to coach’s decisions in November. He gradually became a much more prominent contributor for New Orleans/Oklahoma City, draining several clutch perimeter shots during the Hornets’ 19-9 stretch in January and February. Perhaps his biggest basket of the season came on Feb. 8, when he sank a go-ahead 3-pointer against Seattle with 15 seconds remaining.

The 27-year-old joined new acquisition Bobby Jackson for a press conference at Oklahoma City Community College on Wednesday. The La Salle product later sat down with Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer to talk about a range of topics, including his reasons for returning to the Hornets and the area of his game he would most like to significantly improve in 2006-07.

Eichenhofer: What is your assessment of the Hornets’ offseason? The past three weeks have been tremendous for the franchise, including getting you re-signed, signing Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson, trading for Tyson Chandler and picking up two rookies that many basketball analysts didn’t think would be available at 12 and 15 in the first round. What do you think of the moves that have been made?
Butler: I think this organization has gotten a lot better in a lot of different areas. We’re more athletic now and a little younger. We’re a playoff basketball team on paper. We just need to figure out in practice how to create chemistry with one another and be a successful team.

Eichenhofer: You have a lot of former Miami Heat teammates and other friends around the league. What have some of the guys you know been saying about the Hornets’ offseason?
Butler: I’ve only heard people talking about us and Chicago. They think that our two organizations have made the best offseason moves. Guys understand what we’ve done here and how serious this organization is about being a serious contending playoff basketball team for years to come.

Eichenhofer: How much did your familiarity with the Hornets impact your decision to re-sign? How important was it to you to play with an extremely unselfish point guard like Chris Paul?
Butler: I love playing with Chris Paul. That was part of the reason why I definitely wanted to come back. One day, he’s going to be the best point guard in this league. It’s plain to see, that as long as he stays healthy, he definitely has the potential to do that. That was a huge reason I wanted to be back.
Also, the coaching staff, with Coach (Byron) Scott and those guys, they always kept their word with me. (Scott) has always done everything in his power to help me become a better basketball player and a better person. That’s very rare to find in this league, because most coaches keep it all business – but that’s not the type of relationship I have with Coach Scott. That’s very special, because it’s going to help you elevate not only your life skills, but also your basketball game to another level. He passes on all of the knowledge that he has to his players.

Eichenhofer: You talk about Byron Scott and what he’s done for your game. It seems like there has been a lot of talk recently that there are a significant number of players around the league who want to play for him. Do you think he has become a positive factor, in terms of making this an attractive team for guys around the NBA?
Butler: Absolutely. When you’ve played the game like he has, you can relate to the players more and understand what they go through on a daily basis. A lot of people definitely want to play for him, because he demands a certain amount of respect, but he also allows you to be yourself and make your own decisions on the basketball court.

Eichenhofer: Now that a few months have passed, how do you look back at last season from an individual standpoint? You played the most minutes in a single season of your four-year NBA career and you filled the biggest role on a team since you’ve been in the league.
Butler: I think it was definitely more important to the team for me to play well here than (the three seasons) when I played in Miami. In Miami, it was more of a “bonus” to the team if I played well. I led (the Heat) in scoring off the bench in the three years I was there, which helped the team, but with the Hornets I was needed more. My role definitely increased and I was looked upon here to make some big plays at the end of games. I liked being in that situation.
It took me some time last season to get accustomed to being in a new organization, being in a new offense, under a new coaching staff and with new teammates. It took me a little while to understand how I could help the team and where I would be able to find my shots on the offensive end. It was just a whole new process. Once everything slowed down for me and I started to grow more comfortable, I think it showed in my play, because I became more consistent. To the point where when Desmond Mason went down (with an injury in March), they felt comfortable enough to put me in the starting lineup.

Eichenhofer: What have you been working on since the season ended? Do you have some individual goals for next season, maybe statistically or in general?
Butler: I have goals that I set for myself every year. When I look at last year, I am blessed to be a pretty good shooter (overall), but I shot the ball horribly from the foul line. I shot 69 percent. I vowed to get that up to 80 to 85 percent. I feel as though 85 percent is a realistic goal; I just need to step my focus up in that area of my game.
I’m also going to be in the gym really working on my body, getting it as strong and as big as I possibly can, so I can take advantage of being a bigger shooting guard. Also so I can rebound and defend better in the post. I’ve always been a gifted offensive player, but I want to find a way to be a little bit more consistent scoring the ball. I want to shoot at a high percentage clip and be a consistent part of the team, where you know night in and night out what you’re going to get from me.

Eichenhofer: Lastly, you spent your first three NBA seasons with the Miami Heat. Although many of the Heat’s players were new last season, they still had several of your former teammates and guys you respect a great deal. What were your thoughts on Miami’s NBA title? It must have nice for you to see someone like Udonis Haslem – who you’ve called “the most underrated player in the NBA” – get a ring.
Butler: It was great to see a guy like him get his just due. Like I said, Udonis was underrated. It seemed like him, Alonzo Mourning and James Posey were the X-factors for them in getting that championship. I had mixed emotions because I was one year removed from that team, but I was happy to see those guys do it. When you’re a part of a team like I was for three years, you feel like you are always going to be a part of that family.