[mavErika]

the whole interview is online now:
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/tn...s=iref:nbahpt2

I also thought this was actually a pretty good, funny interview.

edit: the espn blog recorded in writing most of the segment, if you're unwilling to listen to Charles, Kenny & Co.:

Butler on TNT: 'I haven't stopped smiling'

By Jeff Caplan
New Mavericks swingman Caron Butler made a late, late Thursday night, in-studio appearance on the NBA on TNT post-game show with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith (TNT finally aired the segment around 1 a.m. Butler was in-studio during the first game of the doubleheader.)

The Mavs are in Atlanta where they will face the Hawks Friday night on ESPN. The appearance marked Butler's first comments since missing Wednesday's 101-96 win over the Lakers due to a reaction to medication and since the league ordered him to give up chewing straws during games. Wearing a light-colored suit and a king-sized diamond stud in his left ear, Butler mostly kept his responses rather brief.

I'm not sure if Smith and Barkley had more fun talking to Caron about the Mavs or cracking wise about the woeful Wizards.

Smith got in the first smack: "Welcome back to the NBA," he told Butler.

Here is the majority of the segment:

*Bad reaction to medicine forced you out of L.A. Lakers game?: "Bad reaction, little stiffness in the knee, the training staff thought it would be best if I sat out. It was a game I definitely wanted to play in, wish I could have been out there."

*What's the emotion like going from a bad team to good one?: "I haven't stopped smiling. I truly am grateful for this opportunity to be in Dallas...I thank the NBA world for reaching out to [Mark] Cuban and influencing him on coming to get me."

*How does it feel to be considered a missing piece to the puzzle?: "It feels good. All this summer preparing for this opportunity to compete for a title and having that opportunity stripped from me for whatever reason, and now being in this situation to compete for a title again is a great feeling, I can't even describe it."

*How uncomfortable did the situation get in Washington?: "It was truly tough because usually when you leave your workplace you want to go home and relax, but obviously the stress of work, you was bringing it home with you and you had to deal with the trials and everything, and it was just getting overbearing. It was wearing on everybody. It's great to finally get out of that situation and see light at the end of the tunnel."

*It seems this is a good situation for Brendan Haywood as well: "I think Haywood, myself, DeShawn [Stevenson], we're all taking advantage of the situation. We're playing with a Hall of Fame point guard [Jason Kidd], another Hall of Fame player in Dirk [Nowitzki] and great teammates. They accepted us with open arms and made the transition smooth for us."

*Is DeShawn Stevenson a little bit crazy?: "He goes hard, man, he does go extremely hard. He takes it to another level sometimes."

*So the league has told you not to chew straws during games: "I had the whole team doing it for a short second and now they took it away from me."

*Has the league told you why not?: Nah. ("It's dangerous," Kenny Smith blurted rather emphatically. "You don't want him to choke and get hit the one night that it happens, you don't want him to get hurt.")...(Ernie Johnson said you don't want kids doing it.)...(Charles Barkley said: "He's finally back in the NBA so now they look at you. You were in the NBDL the last couple of years.")

And that was that.