"Fate can have a crazy, cruel side. When in a nasty mood, it sends wicked twists.

Caron Butler won't let karma break him, even though his knee buckled in front of his family, friends and a couple of hundred kids he bought tickets for at the Bradley Center on Saturday night.

Don't weep for Butler. He wouldn't want it that way.

Yes, he's gone, probably for a significant portion of the season, maybe all of it. And he becomes a free agent on July 1. The timing of this injury was horrible for the Mavericks and disastrous for Butler and his family. He was on his way to a nice season and would have been an in-demand free agent.

Now? Who knows? But what Butler, his family and everybody else should keep in mind is what a great career he's already had – one that brought with it a five-year, $45 million-plus contract that's ending with this year's $10.5 million salary. "