Da'Sean Butler had a rather rough start to his professional basketball playing career ever since tearing his ACL in West Virginia's game against Duke during last year's NCAA Tournament, but things are looking up for the 42nd overall pick in this year's NBA Draft.

After rehabilitating his knee to the point where he could again workout for NBA teams in hopes of being a late-season free-agent signing, the Miami Heat draft pick signed with the Spurs last week in a move that San Antonio hopes pays off in the future.

"This signing has absolutely nothing to do with the 2010-11 roster," general manager R.C. Buford told the San Antonio Express-News last week. "I'd imagine he will be assigned to Austin soon. We need to get an understanding of his situation. We'll get together with him this weekend, spend some time with him and go over his medical and physical needs."

"Soon" became "today" as the Spurs officially announced that they have assigned Butler to the Austin Toros. With the Toros, Butler will travel to Reno to take on the Bighorns Tuesday before returning home to face the Texas Legends Thursday and Saturday in the team's final two regular season games. There's a good chance the Toros will need to win all three games in order to qualify for the playoffs.