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The Houston Rockets have been a heavy name mentioned in the NBA trade market since last season and now it appears that they're interested in Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler if his services were to become available via trade. Per NBA Insider Marc Stein, the Rockets could be a buyer in the trade market even after they inked huge extensions for young standouts Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün.
“The Rockets are also increasingly mentioned by monitoring rivals as a team to watch should Miami ever reach a point that it chooses to explore its trade options with Jimmy Butler, who grew up some 30 miles away from Houston in Tomball, Texas,” Stein wrote in his latest newsletter.
This isn't the first time that Butler's name has been link to the Rockets. The Rockets almost pulled off a trade for the six-time NBA All-Star in 2018. At the time, the Rockets looked to build a roster that could contend with the Steph Curry & Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors who were already the winners of two back-to-back NBA championships.
Meanwhile, Butler wanted out of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the team was gauging trade interest from around the league. The Rockets at that time were rather aggressive in their attempt to get Butler, even offering four first-round picks per former ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. But the trade ultimately fell apart, and Butler ended up with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It's unclear if the Rockets will get the chance to secure the talents of Butler but it's clear that they want to cement themselves as contenders in the Western Conference. A splash trade for a star coupled with their roster of talented young NBA standouts could give them enough to secure a top-six seed in the Western Conference.
This summer, the Rockets gave huge indications that they wanted to trade for Kevin Durant. In an X post, Wojnarowski detailed the Rockets' strategic acquisition of Phoenix's picks, which they gave up when they acquired Durant from the Suns in 2023. They see those picks as the key to possibly landing Durant.
“The implications of the Rockets landing the Suns' picks? Houston wants to trade for Kevin Durant and that becomes far easier if they can return the Suns' picks that they gave up in the Durant deal to the Nets. Suns have said they're keeping Durant for now, but that could change next season. But now, Houston has the picks to make the Suns whole again,” Woj tweeted in June.
Recently, Durant declined the opportunity to sign a one-year, $59.5 million dollar extension before the NBA's contract extension deadline last Monday prior to the tip-off of the NBA regular season. But, all indications are that he is looking to ink a two-year, $123.8 million extension, netting him an extra $64.3 million.
But, recent comments by Durant and Suns' governor Matt Ishbia indicate that the plan is for the future Hall of Famer to stay with the team long term per September reporting by Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
“I got two years left on my contract. I'm focused on being the best I can every day in the moment. We'll figure out that stuff when it's time,” Durant said.
Later, Ishbia added. “Everyone talks about Kevin, Kevin loves it here…We love Kevin Durant. We talk to him and his agent, Rich Kleiman, all the time. We don't really go through contract extensions publicly, but I'll tell you this. Kevin loves it. We love Kevin. We plan on Kevin being here. Nothing is changing with that.”
Durant currently has two years and about $106 million remaining on his contract before his extension. Durant's willingness to stay with Phoenix could significantly damper the Rockets's plans to acquire him via trade. The Rockets face off against the Spurs tonight at 8 PM EST.
