One of the earliest trade rumors that came out this season for the Kings involved Caron Butler. ESPN's Marc Stein reported early in January that the team had promised Butler a trade to a team in which he could be involved in a larger role. While Butler's leadership in the locker room has been valuable (multiple teammates have mentioned him as a great mentor and leader), Butler himself has not played since before Christmas and has played just 9 games overall with limited minutes in those games.
For a player like Butler who has never played less than 20 minutes a game in his career to be relegated to an end of bench role has got to be tough.