Jimmy to the Houston Rockets
Jimmy Butler is from Texas and, more specifically, from the Houston area. It would be a great story if the Rockets were able to pull off a move for the hometown star as they look to take another leap forward to championship contention in the Western Conference. So far this season, the Rockets have looked like a team that could emerge as a potential dark horse contender in the Western Conference. As their young core continues to develop, you'd have to imagine that there's a very good chance that this team is a big deadline move away from making some serious noise in the postseason.
The question is, could Jimmy be that one big move that helps this team emerge as a contender this season? It's tough to predict. But the Rockets are currently tied (in the loss column) for the second seed in the Western Conference and are within two games of the top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder. One big move from the Rockets at the trade deadline could very much be the difference in Houston fading during the second half of the season to emerging as a real playoff threat in the conference.
Breaking down the blockbuster deal
The only real path I see the Rockets in trading for Jimmy is if they could pull off the move without touching their young core. If the recent reporting is any indication, the Rockets aren't ready to break up their young core and want to see how it continues to develop. The good news is that the Rockets don't necessarily have to trade any of them if they want to make a deal happen with the Heat centered around Jimmy. Whether it makes perfect sense remains to be seen, but there's certainly a path.
In this deal, the Rockets would send Fred VanVleet (who is on an expiring contract anyway), Steven Adams, Jae'Sean Tate, and a protected future first-round pick in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. I understand there could be some natural hesitance for the Rockets to make such a big move but this deal would help them keep their young core intact while also adding a star player to their roster which would give them the needed legitimacy before the stretch run. At the very least, it's a deal the Rockets would have to consider.