Caron Butler trade reaction, Lamar Odom to Lakers rumor denied

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The Phoenix Suns traded forward Caron Butler to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night in exchange for Ish Smith and Slava Kravtsov. The move addresses Milwaukee's need at small forward while freeing up $8 million in cap space for a team that never needed Butler in the first place.

The trade will immediately help the Bucks, who only have Carlos Delfino, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo to play at small forward. Eric Buenning of Brew Hoop discussed the impact of acquiring the former All-Star, noting that Delfino could miss part of the regular season because of a foot injury:

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Also consider that in Woelfel's article he mentions that Delfino is still rehabbing from surgery he had for a broken bone in his right foot that may require him to miss all of the preseason and possibly a bit of the regular season. Whether that's entirely true remains to be seen, but the thought of the Bucks being left with Middleton and Antetokounmpo on the depth chart to begin the season is, well, gross.

Per contra to Butler being an upgrade for this roster, this move pushes the Bucks more squarely into that 35-40 win territory that the Bucks' faithful all know and hate, rather than leave room for potential fluctuation.

Dave King of Bright Side of the Sun also analyzed the trade, concluding that trading Jared Dudley and a second-round draft pick for Butler and Eric Bledsoe still turns out to be "very good" for Phoenix, especially at a time when "every loss counts" in a rebuilding effort:

Vets win games, even if it's only a few of them. And when a team is in dogfight with Philadelphia, among others, for the best draft selection next spring, every loss counts...

It means the Suns effectively traded Jared Dudley and a second round pick for Eric Bledsoe, Slava Kravtsov and Ish Smith.

Still a very good deal for the Suns, assuming Bledsoe plays well enough to earn Dudley's minutes. The latter two have no future with the Suns unless there's a rash of injuries during voluntary pickup games next month. Otherwise, they are toast.

What else could it mean for the Suns? Scott Schroeder takes a look at Phoenix's current roster situation and concludes that cutting Michael Beasley may be the next logical step for the organization to take.