NBA.com: Mitchell Butler Bio

A scrappy guard who was part of the high-octane UCLA teams of the early 1990s, Mitchell Butler was never drafted by an NBA team but nevertheless earned a spot on the Washington Bullets' roster in 1993. After three seasons with the Bullets, he was dealt to Portland and then on to Clevland, for whom he has played the last two seasons. A Los Angeles native, Butler appeared in more games than any UCLA player in history. Playing alongside such gunners as Don MacLean and Tracy Murray in his first three seasons, Butler's scoring average didn't top 8.0 points per game, and as a senior he only scored 9.5 points per contest. But he shot better than .500 from the field in three of his four seasons and finished his career ranked seventh on the school's all-time steals list. Passed over in the 1993 NBA Draft, Butler made the Bullets' squad for the 1993-94 season and was a surprising contributor. An athletic 6-5 guard, he played in 75 games as a rookie and averaged 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds. Injuries to Michael Adams and Rex Chapman opened up opportunities in the Bullets' backcourt, and Butler wound up starting 19 games, averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in those contests. In his second season, 1994-95, Butler found himself competing for playing time with Scott Skiles, Calbert Cheaney and Chapman, but as a reserve he brought solid all-around skills to the squad, contributing 7.9 points and 1.2 assists per contest. His playing time and production dropped off dramatically in 1995-96, however, as his scoring dipped to 3.9 ppg. On July 15, 1996, he was traded by the Bullets along with Rasheed Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers for Rod Strickland and Harvey Grant. He averaged 3.0 points in 9.5 minutes in his only season with Portland, appearing in 49 games. His rights were renounced by the Blazers on August 23, 1997 and he signed with the Cavaliers on October 2, 1997. He played in 18 games, averaging 2.1 ppg, but spent the remainder of the season on the injured list because of a herniated disc in his neck. In 1998-99 he played in 31 games in two stints with the Cavs, averaging 5.4 ppg.

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Registered a season-high 21 points (3-5 3FG),adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors on 5/5 Posted a team-high 19 points, 4 steals and 3 rebounds against the Indiana Pacers on 5/4 Scored 18 points (7-8 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT) against the Charlotte Hornets on 4/17 Scored 14 points in a 91-90 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors on 4/16 Totaled 10 points (4-7 FG) and 4 rebounds in an 89-81 victory over the Chicago Bulls on 4/14 Waived by the Cavaliers on 3/10 and re-signed for the remainder of the season on 3/19

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Placed on the injured list after undergoing successful surgery on 12/29 to remove a herniated disc and bone spurs, and fuse the C5-6 vertebrae, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season Recorded 11 points (5-5 FG) and 4 steals in a 101-80 victory over the Chicago Bulls on 11/11

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Butler played almost exclusively a reserve role for the Blazers, averaging 3.0 points in 9.5 minutes, playing in 49 games, all but one of them off the bench. In his only start of the season he scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in a 107-63 rout of Denver on April 16. Butler made two trips to the injured list, missing a total of 10 games. He was out from Dec. 3-12 with a strained groin from Feb. 25 to March 3 with swelling in his right knee. He scored a season-high 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting in a 96-73 victory over Cleveland on March 14. He dished out a career-high six assists and scored 10 points in Portland's season opener, a 114-85 win at Vancouver on Nov. 1. Butler appeared in two playoff games for Portland, scoring two points in four minutes. His rights were renounced by the Blazers on August 23, 1997.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Butler's playing time and production dipped in his third season with the Bullets. He played in 61 games and averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 14.1 minutes per game, shooting .384 from the field--all career lows. He scored a season-high 22 points against Detroit on Nov. 22, and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds against Philadelphia on Nov. 15. His playing time decreased after midseason, however, and he was a DNP-CD in 16 games from February to the end of the season. After the season he was dealt to Portland along with Rasheed Wallace for Rod Strickland and Harvey Grant.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
Although still a reserve for most of the season, Butler was a mainstay in a Bullets backcourt devastated by injuries. He opened the year backing up Rex Chapman and Calbert Cheaney at the off guard slot, but as Chapman suffered through an injury-plagued season and appeared in only 45 games, Cheaney moved into the starting No. 2 position, leaving more reserve minutes for Butler. Cheaney then missed the final week of the season because of illness, and Butler got his chance to perform as a starter. Butler, who logged 20.4 minutes per game for the season, started and played 37.6 minutes per contest in the Bullets last five games. During that stretch he registered 14.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per contest, including a career-high-tying 26-point game against the Philadelphia 76ers. For the entire season he averaged 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

1993-1994 REGULAR SEASON
Mitchell Butler earned a spot on the Washington Bullets roster following a fine four-year career at UCLA. He appeared in more games (130) than any other player in Bruins history and finished his career ranked 32nd on the school s all-time scoring list (1,023 points), seventh in steals (127), and 10th in three-pointers made (31). After being passed over in the 1993 NBA Draft, Butler made the Bullets roster as a free agent. The 6-foot-5 forward played in 75 games, 19 as a starter. Overall, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game.