Caron Butler played through a sore ankle and broke loose against his former team to torch the Mavericks for season highs across the board with 19 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three 3-pointers on 7-of-19 shooting in Saturday's loss.

We've been waiting for Butler to come around and have a big line and it finally happened. Of course, Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders were in street clothes, and Butler may have been motivated against his former mates. While this was easily Butler's best game of the season, he has been consistently scoring in double figures and is averaging 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 3-pointers over his last five games.

Updating a previous report, Andrew Gruman is reporting that Caron Butler left Friday's practice after tweaking his ankle, and not due to personal reasons.

Butler is starting for the Bucks, but hasn't exactly blown up yet. There's still time for it to happen, but he's not worth using in most fantasy leagues right now.

Caron Butler missed Thursday's practice due to a personal matter.

It was the same day he was fined $15K by the NBA for his obscene gesture, but it's likely unrelated. Butler and the Bucks don't play the Mavs until Saturday, so it would be a surprise for him to miss the game against his former team.

Caron Butler was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for an obscene gesture.

He hit a big shot down the stretch at TD Garden on Friday, then did a move made famous by Sam Cassell and Major League 2. Butler is playing 28.7 minutes per game and is a key part of the rotation, but his offense hasn't come around yet, shooting just 38.7 percent from the field. The picture of the gesture and big shot are provided in the link below.

Caron Butler had 14 points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal, two 3-pointers and seven ugly turnovers in Wednesday's loss to the Knicks.

Butler hit 5-of-9 shots and didn't look to bad tonight for a guy you were able to pick up at the end of your draft.

Caron Butler (ankle) returned to practice with the Bucks on Saturday.

This is good news for the Bucks who will lean on the Racine, Wisconsin native as a source for points. Butler will never match the across the board production he put up earlier in his career, but he is worth keeping an eye on in the late rounds of drafts.

Caron Butler rolled his ankle on Wednesday and he will not play in Friday's preseason finale.

Coach Larry Drew expects him to be ready for the season, but it does serve as a remind of the fragility of Butler. He's still worth a pick late in drafts and could be among the team's leading scorers this season. Khris Middleton will start while hopefully we get a longer look at Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Caron Butler hit 9-of-13 shots and two 3-pointers on his way to 24 points, four rebounds, one assist and a block in 37 minutes of Wednesday's preseason win over the Knicks.

We were pretty into his move to the Bucks when it happened, and then he laid dud after dud in the preseason. That changed on Wednesday and while it's just one game, it does give some hope for Butler's fantasy value this season. He should be available in the later rounds of drafts and we still think he's going to be a centerpiece of their offense.

Caron Butler started, but hit just 1-of-5 shots for three points, three rebounds and two assists in Tuesday's preseason loss.

He had 18 points on Saturday and is going to log a ton of minutes for the Bucks, as long as he's healthy. He's the starting small forward and should be available pretty late in most fantasy drafts, meaning he looks like an excellent value pick in all formats this season. Don't let tonight's donut discourage you from targeting him late.

Caron Butler led the Bucks with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting in Saturday's defeat, adding two 3-pointers, six rebounds and two assists.

Larry Drew suggested that Caron would be the Bucks' second-option offensively this year, and he may not have been kidding. We don't expect him to be this active most nights, and Ersan Ilyasova's absence left more shots available, but fantasy owners can reasonably pencil Butler in as a late-round pick.

Larry Drew suggested on Monday that Caron Butler will be the Bucks' second option offensively.

"In Los Angeles, [Butler] was the third or fourth option," Drew said. "That won't be the case in Milwaukee." Bucks fans can't enjoy the prospect of Butler as the second option offensively. He took just 11 percent of his shots in isolation sets last year, according to Synergy Sports, and his 0.8 points per possession barely ranked in the league's top-100. He wasn't much better in post-up situations and he struggled in transition, which left him as a designated spot-up shooter (accounting for 45.3 percent of his attempts). He may be a useful source of 3-pointers with Milwaukee this year, but his value is tempered by a low FG percentage combined with minimal rebounds, assists or steals.

Caron Butler projects as the starting small forward and will play "a lot of minutes," according to Bucks general manager John Hammond.

"We project him to be our starting small forward, project him to play a lot of minutes for our team, project him to help us win games," Hammond said. The Bucks needed a small forward in the worst way before bringing Butler and the early indication is Butler should have the ball in his hands quite a bit. The Bucks lost their top three scorers from last year -- Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis and Mike Dunleavy -- and Butler has a chance to score in the teens this season. He's someone to think about in the second half of your draft.

Caron Butler said that he feels like he's back to his "old self."

"I felt I was back to my old self. It's never been hard for me to score. As long as I'm out there, I'll find a way," Butler said. Ever since his patellar tendon surgery from 2011, Butler has averaged career-low minutes per game in his two seasons with the Clippers. Part of that may be due to the Clippers and their use of Matt Barnes off the bench in 2012-13, but his scoring based on per-36-minute averages hasn't been lower since 2003-04. If Butler can truly look like his old self, he could be worth a later pick in drafts.

Suns trade Caron Butler to Bucks for Ish Smith and Slava Kravtsov.

The deal is now official and it should be an interesting training camp battle between Butler and Carlos Delfino for the starting small forward job. Delfino would be our favorite if he were healthy, but he may not be ready to start the season after undergoing right foot surgery.

The Suns have agreed to trade Caron Butler to the Bucks for Ish Smith and Slava Kravtsov.

Butler was raised in Racine, Wisconsin and will get to play near his hometown. He projects to be the starting small forward, which had been a major weak spot for the Bucks with Carlos Delfino (foot) questionable for the opener. It's another indication that the Bucks are basically unwilling to play Ersan Ilyasova at small forward. Butler, Delfino and recently-acquired Khris Middelton are likely to cancel each other out in fantasy hoops.

ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that G/F Caron Butler has been told he will likely be traded from the Suns to the Bucks.

Rumors have been bouncing all over Twitter all night, but it appears that a deal sending Butler to the Bucks is close to happening. Butler could easily start on opening night due to the fact Carlos Delfino is struggling to recover from right foot surgery. If the deal actually goes down, it would both hurt the value of players like Delfino and Khris Middleton, assuming he's not traded, while the Suns would go ahead and roll with P.J. Tucker at SF in Phoenix.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting that the Bucks are looking at acquiring G/F Caron Butler from the Suns.

Details are sketchy, but Butler, who is on the downside of his career, is from Racine, Wisconsin, meaning he could finish his career at home. The Bucks already have O.J. Mayo and Carlos Delfino as starting wings, but Butler would add some experience and veteran leadership at the wings. If they get him, it could really hurt the development of Khris Middleton, who we've identified as a deep fantasy sleeper. The report states the deal could become a reality in the near future, but it's hard to see Butler making a huge impact this season, regardless of where he plays.

Caron Butler said no one from Clippers' front office called to inform him of the trade or to thank him.

Thanks to the willingness of the Bucks, the Clippers were able to reel in J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley for just Butler and a second-round pick in a sign-and-trade deal last month. Butler shouldn't be called upon too much for the rebuilding Suns, but their lack of depth on the wing could put him around his 2013-13 minutes-per-game average of 24.1.

Suns acquired SF Caron Butler as part of a three-team trade with the Clippers and Bucks.

The Suns had to take Butler on in order to acquire supremely talented point guard Eric Bledsoe. We wouldn't expect Butler to play much -- if at all -- for the rebuilding Suns. They could try to buy out the final year of his $8 million contract.

Caron Butler, who was a game-time decision coming into Tuesday's game against the Blazers, not only played, but went off for 22 points, four boards and four 3-pointers on 9-of-14 shooting in 25 minutes.

Another silly-season surprise. With the Clippers looking to lock up the No. 3 seed and home court in Round 1 against the Kings on Wednesday, it wouldn't be surprising to see Butler play well again tonight.