Though it was a bit of a pipe dream, Jimmy Butler is not joining James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston.
The Rockets missed out on adding a third All-Star player when free agency officially opened on Sunday night. Instead, the versatile wing player is heading down to Florida to play for the Miami Heat.
In a sign-and-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, Butler will now sign a four-year/$142 million max contract with the Heat. He is clearly looking to be the face of the Heat following Dwyane Wade’s retirement.
Butler, 29, averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game last season with both the 76ers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s now back to the drawing board, again, for the Rockets.
The Rockets had no pick in the 2019 NBA draft, and still have no cap space to work with. They had been hoping to join with a third team in a sign-and-trade with Butler, and that would have meant sending Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and/or P.J. Tucker out of Texas.
Of course, the Rockets still may make some trades in the hopes of getting some of the remaining few free agents.
One of those players could be Patrick Beverley, who already had a very successful stint with the Rockets before, and is a city favorite.
D’Angelo Russell, DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Morris, JaMychal Green, Robin Lopez, Danny Green, Kelly Oubre, Tomas Satoransky, Jabari Parker, Taj Gibson, Markieff Morris and Bobby Portis are all also still free agents as of 10 p.m. Sunday night.
