Rockets Offer King's Ransom for T-Wolves' Jimmy Butler
After the Miami Heat came close to striking a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for All-Star Jimmy Butler prior to the season starting, the Houston Rockets are taking a crack at getting the superstar from the fellow Western Conference team in the first two weeks of the season. It all started a couple of weeks ago when the Heat offered Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk, and a protected first-round pick in 2019 for Butler. Medical papers were exchanged and then Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau called up Heat Pat Riley and asked for more assets. At that point the trade fell apart and while Butler is still being shopped by Minnesota, a deal is yet to be found for his services with another team.
Upon the regular season starting, Minnesota owner Glen Taylor assured Butler that he would be moved once the team found a package that satisfied the organization. This is where the Houston Rockets came into play on Thursday with a King's Ransom of an offer to the Timberwolves. Houston offered up four future first-round picks and two of their injured players in Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight. Due to the fact the Rockets acquired Chriss and Knight from the Phoenix Sun less than two months ago, they are unable to include them in the deal until Wednesday.
However, if you thought the offer was not crazy enough, the Timberwolves said checkmate and apparently have shown "no inclination" in accepting this deal. Yes, you heard that right folks, the Rockets offered their future to Minnesota to go all-in this season with Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, Chris Paul and the addition of Jimmy Butler. Instead of taking the deal which would be incredibly valuable for the future of the Timberwolves, they seem to be uninterested in accepting it. While trade talks are still fluid between the two teams, it is hard to imagine Minnesota getting a better offer than what Houston put on the table.
But wait, there is more! The Miami Heat have now rekindled talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Butler today. Perhaps at this point the T-Wolves are hoping they can remain contenders in the Western Conference if they keep Jimmy Butler on the team for the remainder of the season. Tom Thibodeau is the man doing the trade talks for Minnesota and if four future first-round draft picks is not enough to sway the man, then what will be enough. Maybe in Thibodeau's mind he does not seem himself around in the long-term to see those future picks come to fruition and wants his team to flourish now.
Whatever the case may be, it seems clear that Jimmy Butler wants out of Minnesota once he becomes a free agent this offseason. The 29-year-old turned down a four-year, $110 million offer from the Timberwolves this offseason after believing it made more financial sense to wait for a long-term deal until next summer. Then Butler had an outburst during a team scrimmage in which the All-Star said, "You (bleeping) need me. You can't win without me." As Minnesota sits at 2-3 so far on the young season, Butler has averaged 24.8 points per game which is certain to make him more valuable on the trade market, but apparently not even the maximum number of future first-round picks is enough to sway the organization that employs him.
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