The Rockets are trying to trade for Jimmy Butler.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, via Steven Godfrey of SB Nation:
“We would love to see Jimmy come home to Houston. It’s not a financial decision, it’s an assets decision on our part. We’ve got a great basketball team. We think we’re as good as anybody in the league. We’re not going to give up unreasonable assets, to break up this team, to get Jimmy Butler. But we would love to have him.”
Butler’s future in Minnesota remains uncertain, but he’s still on the Timberwolves. So is this tampering?
The NBA’s tampering rules are vague and arbitrarily enforced. Textbook cases happen without the league mentioning it. Benign incidents draw fines.
But this really seems like tampering.