NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Surprise dark horse who could make a move for Jimmy Butler

NBA Trade Rumors: There's one surprise dark horse team who could make a bold in-season move for Jimmy Butler.

Losing as soundly as they did to the Orlando Magic on opening night, it was a far-from-ideal start to the Miami Heat's season. They did manage to recover against a depleted Charlotte Hornets team but there remain some very big questions about this team's future. One of the biggest revolves around Jimmy Butler. In the final year of his contract, he will almost certainly opt out and test free agency next summer. At least for now, there's no guarantee he's going to re-sign with the Heat.

And, to be perfectly honest, with the way they've played during the regular season each of the past few years, the argument could be made that the Heat shouldn't re-sign Jimmy and should instead pivot toward a younger core. You'd have to imagine that will ultimately be determined by how this season ends for the Heat. But if it does quickly begin to unravel over the next couple of months, there has to be a non-zero chance that Miami would be open to trading Jimmy (especially if they don't plan on meeting his contract demands during the summer).

If that scenario were to play out over the next couple of months, leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline, there is one team, according to Marc Stein, who may be willing to take the gamble on making the in-season trade for Jimmy. And that's the Houston Rockets.

Jimmy is from a city close to Houston and the Rockets do make sense as a team that is ready to take a big step forward while remaining a big veteran move away from doing so. I'm not sure how smart of a long-term move it would end up being for the Rockets, but if they're looking to acquire a star talent, Jimmy does make a lot of sense on paper - even if it is just for a couple of seasons.

The Miami Heat may never be willing to trade Jimmy Butler

While strong arguments could be made that a Jimmy trade might be the best long-term move for the Heat, this is a team that has rarely made such a decision. Looking back at the last few years, the Heat refused to trade Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Caleb Martin as expiring contracts and then would lose all of them (essentially) for nothing in free agency the following summer.

If the Heat weren't willing to move those types of role players as expiring contracts, I can't imagine they're going to trade arguably their second-most important player on the team. But, hey, if the Heat does, for one reason or another, change their entire approach to the trade deadline, the Rockets might be there waiting.