#CARON BUTLER 2022 SERIES#

By the end of the semester, he was a solid 'B' student and successfully petitioned his way back to Park High School. So, street-savvy Butler resorted to a little trickery and enrolled under his real name, James Caron Butler.

Because of his record, his old school district refused to admit him. The day Butler was 'sprung' was a glorious day for Paden, but her son's troubles were far from over. I prayed a lot and went to the altar a lot.' 'From being a single parent and telling him over and over what to do and what not to do, I just thought that I was his mom and I had to help him try and make things right again, and he did. 'That was the worst thing that had ever happened to me,' Paden said wistfully during a telephone interview from her home in Racine. Paden, however, never even considered giving up on her oldest son. My family was telling me that she just wasn't herself until I got released and she saw me doing well again.' She had a couple of gray strands coming in. 'Yeah, I knew I never, ever wanted to be in that situation again,' he said.īut what bothered Butler most was how he was hurting his mother, a woman who described her son as 'smart and outgoing,' never stupid or shady. It certainly was not the ideal environment for a kid barely old enough to shave, but something good did come out of the experience: Butler got scared straight. It was all the things you see in those prison movies - the sex, people getting cut up and trying to bust out. 'Those guys were hardcore up there,' Butler said during an interview at the Lakers' El Segundo practice facility last month. He was sentenced and served three months in county lockdown and an additional 15 months at a maximum-security juvenile facility in Wales, Wis. The troubled teen found himself facing jail.

#CARON BUTLER 2022 SERIES#

As Butler says, 'There's a hood everywhere.'Īfter a series of arrests and appearances in juvenile court, Butler was arrested at his high school for carrying a gun and a small packet of cocaine.

It might seem improbable that a teen growing up in America's heartland would engage in this sort of illegal activity, but don't be fooled. By age 14, he was selling drugs and carrying a gun that he purchased from 'some brother off the street.' While Paden, a single mother, worked two jobs in local factories to provide for her two sons, Butler became a statistic. Before Butler was an NBA player rolling with the Benjamins to burn, he was a troubled teen growing up in Racine, Wis. Whatever she wants or needs, I'm going to get it, definitely.'īutler's devotion is understandable, particularly because his mother's devotion to him never wavered, even through some tough times during his formative years. Whatever's nice I see out there at the time, or whatever her want or need is at the time, I'm going to grab for her,' said Butler, who already bought his mother a house.

Her son simply wants to give her the world on Mother's Day and the remaining 364 days in the year. It's not that Paden is difficult to buy for - she's not. LOS ANGELES – Mother's Day is Sunday, and Los Angeles Lakers forward Caron Butler still hasn't figured out what to get his mom, Mattie Paden.

Caron butler 2022