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The Miami Heat are approaching a pivotal moment in franchise history.
If the Heat decide to double down on the Jimmy Butler era, they’ll need to go all-in on one more blockbuster trade before February to ensure that Butler and Bam Adebayo have enough star power surrounding them to make one more title push.
On the other hand, no one would question Miami’s logic if they decided to move on from Butler and enter a new phase.
If and when the Heat choose to trade Butler, the Houston Rockets would be one of the most viable partners for a deal.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey outlined what a Butler-to-Houston trade would look like in a new report on Friday:
“Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson for Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore and a top-five protected 2031 first-round pick.”
“Losing in the 2024 first round, (Jimmy) Butler not signing an extension this past summer and the Heat getting off to a slow start all suggest a possible trade, and the Houston Rockets may be the perfect landing spot for (Butler),” Bailey said.
“Houston has a contract that almost seems to be designed to be traded attached to Fred VanVleet. He's making $42.8 million this season (an inflated number for his level of production), which makes him an obvious salary-matcher.”
“The Rockets also have multiple young players and/or prospects to make whatever the next era of Miami basketball is more intriguing.”
“Jabari Smith Jr. and Cam Whitmore both have the kind of three-and-D potential that Erik Spoelstra can mold into helpful players. A first-round pick would be a good get for a team that's spent a lot of capital in recent years.”
“For the Rockets, unloading two or three of the up-and-comers hardly empties their trove of young talent on the roster. They'd still have Alperen Şengün, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson (though Miami might insist on getting him), Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard.”
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