The Miami Heat will have a huge decision to make before February.
Based on how Miami performs over the next couple of months, Heat exec Pat Riley will have to figure out if he wants to commit to franchise player Jimmy Butler or trade Butler and build a new era around 27-year-old Bam Adebayo.
If Riley does indeed opt to dangle Butler out into the trade market, the Houston Rockets would view Butler as a “realistic target,” according to a new report from Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes.
“On the last year of his deal and looking underwhelming in the early days of his age-35 season, Butler would come with real risks,” Hughes said.
“That’s also why he’d probably come cheap.”
“Houston has a glut of young players who need rotation minutes and may not be able to accommodate them this season. Butler could be had for two or three of them in a consolidation trade. The trick would be figuring out which combination of Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason or Cam Whitmore would be outgoing.”
“The Rockets should probably take Thompson, Sheppard and Smith off the table. Eason or Whitmore could still have enough appeal to the Heat (if they have no future plans for Butler) to get Houston the veteran star it currently lacks.”
Butler has already been linked to the Rockets in multiple reports. Is a deal inevitable?
Butler is in the final year of his three-year, $146.4 million maximum veteran extension.
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