The Kentucky Mavericks sign former NBA Player, Jackie Butler (6’11-270-Center) to a contract to play for the upcoming season.
Butler played for the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA from 2005 to 2007. He played 55 games for the Knicks during the 2005-06 season and averaged 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
The San Antonio Spurs signed Butler as a free agent the next season to a 3 year, 7-million-dollar contract. Butler was considered a long-term project by the Spurs, but did earn a 2007 NBA Championship Ring as a member of the Spurs roster.
The Spurs traded Butler to the Houston Rockets in the Summer of 2007. He was released by the Rockets in Training Camp in October 2007.
Butler was one of the last players to leave High School and declare for the NBA Draft out of McComb High School in McComb, MS in 2004. He went undrafted.
His dominant play in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Great Lakes Storm, where he averaged 18.1 ppg, 10.7 rpg, and 1.45 blocks led to him getting an opportunity in the NBA with the New York Knicks and Legendary NBA Coach, Larry Brown.
Butler is the first former NBA Player ever signed by the Mavs.
Kentucky Wesleyan Players
The Mavs also drafted two players from the Kentucky Wesleyan College 2015-16 Conference Championship team in the Premier Basketball League Draft Tuesday night.
Marcus Fillyaw, a 6’1-200-point guard that led the Panthers with his savvy and clutch play last season will join the Mavericks vying for an opportunity with one of the top professional teams outside of the NBA today.
Fillyaw averaged 7.3 ppg, 3.5 apg, and 1.7 steals a game for Kentucky Wesleyan.
Fillyaw is from Topeka, KS and was the Mavs first round selection in the PBL Draft.
In the second round, the Mavericks selected sharp shooting CJ Blackwell from Kentucky Wesleyan College. Blackwell hails from Los Angeles, CA.
Blackwell was a first team All-Conference selection averaging 13.7 ppg during the 2015-16 season. His long range sharp shooting helped Wesleyan compile a 27-4 record and a trip to the NCAA II National Tournament last March.
“We’re extremely happy with acquiring the rights to these two young men. We feel both can make an impact on our pro basketball team immediately! They come from a winning and championship program at KWC, and we are all about winning with our Mavericks,” stated KY Mavs Head Coach, Steve Tucker.
