Trail Blazers 108, Wizards 102
JARED BUTLER: How you guys doing?
Q. Jared, congratulations on the new contract. What can you tell us about what it means to you?
JARED BUTLER: Obviously basketball has been a huge part of my life. You want to play at the highest level. You want to accomplish great things. This is just a testament to the hard work and just staying patient.
Obviously the organization believes in me. For most of it, it's God in my life. He has sustained me, helped me be patient, helped me be faithful to the grind, kept me humble. This is a testament to all those things.
Q. How do you feel like you've grown this season to this point?
JARED BUTLER: I think during my career I kind of played off the ball. Since I got here, they kind of wanted me to play on the ball, add to the game in different other ways. I think I've improved in those areas.
Yeah, I think that's how I improved this year.
Q. Coach Keefe talked about how your signing is an example of the team's player development. What do you think the team has done well to help you get to this point?
JARED BUTLER: I think they've been on one accord as far as what they want to see from me, no matter who I'm playing with, whether it's the Wizards or the Go-Go. They've been pretty consistent on: This is what I want you to work on, this is the kind of player I want you to be.
I think that synergy really helped out. Obviously just the chance to play with the Go-Go is big, too, when I'm not playing with the Wizards.
Q. Where would you rank this contract, this accomplishment for you in your career?
JARED BUTLER: In my career? Probably like top three, yeah. Winning the Big 12 at Baylor was. Winning the national championship...
This is big for me because I was out the league after my rookie year. I just spent a year in the G League, working my way to two way. Takes some resilience with this one.
Q. You played like a dog this year, man. On a personal level, what to you work on next?
JARED BUTLER: Man, I think it just starts, my career as an NBA player. With that, I want to be like a cockroach. If the bomb goes off, I'm still crawling around. You'll still see me. I want to be just tough. I can take punches and keep rolling. That's what I want to be, yeah.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports