NBA Trade Rumors: It's pretty safe to assume that the Houston Rockets will not be trading for Jimmy Butler at the deadline.
Over the past week, Jimmy Butler has been the talk of the NBA. After it was initially reported that the Miami Heat was open to listening to trade offers for the perennial All-Star, the trade rumor mill did what it tends to do. However, after conflicting reports over the last few days, it's still unclear whether the Heat will ultimately move Jimmy before the NBA Trade Deadline.
Nevertheless, as soon as the original report surfaced, a natural list of preferred destinations for Jimmy began to arise. The teams on that supposed list are the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Phoenix Suns. While they may make some theoretical sense on paper, the recent reporting suggests that it's pretty safe to cross off the Rockets as a team that could end up making a move for Jimmy at the trade deadline.
The Houston Rockets are moving off their hard stance
I don't think this reporting should be shocking by any means. In fact, the argument can be made that this is pretty consistent with what has been coming out of the Rockets' camp all season long. It's been long reported that Houston isn't ready to break up their young core at the moment and I'm not sure how smart it would be for the Rockets to make a rash move for Jimmy when they're playing so well.
At least now, it would be odd for the Rockets to change stances on this issue. And if Houston did really want Jimmy, they could just wait until the offseason to sign him. With the option to move off of Fred VanVleet's contract after this season, there could be a path toward the Rockets acquiring Jimmy either in free agency outright or via sign and trade - especially if he isn't traded at the Heat doesn't move off their stance of not giving him the full max extension.
For the first time in a long time, the argument could be made that the Rockets are in a great situation where they don't really have to force the issue either way. Maybe the Rockets fall into a downward spiral and their outlook begins to change over the next couple of months but at least for now, it would make no sense for the Rockets to force the issue by jumping into the sweepstakes for a superstar who is past his prime and one that won't alter Houston's ceiling all that much.