Houston GM Daryl Morey realizes the Rockets title window is open right now but will not stay that way for long... and that team from Golden State is blocking their path through that window.
Morey is all in on a title and will do whatever it takes to get the talent on the roster he needs (well, as long as owner Tilman Fertitta keeps footing the bill without complaining), and that means if a player such as Jimmy Butler comes available, Morey will at least test the waters. Which he is still doing, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.
NBA sources confirm the #Rockets are making a strong effort to land Jimmy Butler in a trade with Minnesota.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) September 28, 2018
This isn’t the first time’s Houston name has come up, it was reported before they were trying to be creative in finding a deal (this new leak/report could be someone in the Rockets’ organization trying to show fans how hard they are trying).
The problem is there are not many deals for Houston to strike. They could make a trade of Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker for Butler, and maybe throw in their first-round pick (which will be 25 or later), but that doesn’t give Minnesota the quality young player that it wants, nor does it give the Timberwolves any salary relief (a third team could be brought in to take on Gorgui Dieng, but that means more Houston assets out the door as sweeteners to make it work). This is probably where the “creative” part of the first report came in, Morey is looking at some out-of-the-box three-team (or more) trades. Those are very hard to put together.
It’s hard to picture how the Rockets get a trade done. Then again, with Tom Thibodeau asking for enough to drive every team away right now, it’s hard to picture any deal getting done. At least until something forces the price down.
