The Philadelphia 76ers are set to convert recently acquired guard Jared Butler to a standard NBA contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The former second-round pick started this season on a two-way deal with the Washington Wizards before being traded to the Sixers, along with four second-round picks, in exchange for Reggie Jackson and an extremely unfavorable 2026 first-round pick.
Since joining the Sixers, Butler has averaged 10.0 points and 4.7 assists a night, quickly establishing himself as another piece of the Sixers’ potential young core. Given Jared McCain‘s season-ending injury and the new knee injury that kept star guard Tyrese Maxey from playing against the Brooklyn Nets, converting Butler to a standard deal will provide some more stability in head coach Nick Nurse’s guard rotation.
Butler has spent time with the Utah Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the aforementioned Washington Wizards before finally landing this contract with the Sixers. The former Baylor guard got his start in the NBA after being selected at pick 40 in the 2021 NBA draft but has not been able to find a steady place to call home.
The search for that home may be over as the Sixers’s dismal season and proven track record at developing young, overlooked players provide the most stable breeding ground for Butler’s success. The Sixers will need to clear a roster spot before officially converting Butler. Given that both Chuma Okeke and David Roddy are on 10-day deals, it’s likely the Sixers will simply allow one or both to return to free agency after their ten days are up.
Butler’s future with the Sixers
This deal does not necessarily impact the Sixers’s offseason hopes of retaining Kelly Oubre Jr., Guerschon Yabusele, and Quenton Grimes. While Butler’s deal is not just a one-year contract, the second year is a team option that gives the Sixers flexibility come the offseason. This means that the Sixers’s plan of retaining Yabusele and the others is still very much alive and just as possible as it was before the very deserving contract was handed out.
Philadelphia may still look to keep Butler in the long term. Should the 24-year-old guard continue to show his outstanding playmaking skills and lay claim to the backup point guard role once everyone is healthy, the Sixers could pick up his team option and secure his services for another year or decline it in search of a longer team-friendly deal. If Butler fails to stick in the rotation as players become healthy, the Sixers can decline the second year and send him into free agency with no effect on their cap sheet.
While Butler isn’t a generational player by any means, he has shown that he has the skills to make a difference. When he was with the Wizards, Butler scored a career-high 26 points against Philadelphia just last month. If anyone has the right situation to help Butler become a consistent contributor in this league, it’s the Sixers.
Philadelphia has been one of the best in the NBA when it comes to developing young, overlooked players these past two years, with both Ricky Council IV and Justin Edwards proving that they belong. With Butler’s playmaking and ball-handling skills being desperate needs for the Sixers, he could soon join the list as another piece of a sneaky young core in Philadelphia.
