Houston Rockets Offers Wolves Four First Round Choices for Jimmy Butler

The Houston Rockets are again trying to acquire Jimmy Butler, star of the Minnesota Timberwolves club, and will include four subsequent first-round picks in their latest bid, ESPN sources told the league.

The Timberwolves have continued to solicit offers on Butler since the start of the regular season, the sources said.

The Houston attack represents a willingness to sacrifice some long-term flexibility and team up with a legitimate third star to associate with All-NBA guards, James Harden and Chris Paul, in search of 39, a championship.

The Rockets offer is the maximum number of first-round picks permitted in a trade, taking into account league rules that do not allow the first players to be selected in subsequent years, and no choice can be traded at any time. beyond seven seasons.

The lottery protections on the choices in this proposed deal would be limited.

Debates over players involved in Minnesota-Houston talks remain fluid, league sources said.

Until now, Minnesota's bids have remained unchanged for Butler, who has requested an exchange in the pre-season and has announced to the organization that he was planning to leave for a free agency this summer.

The Rockets would trade for Butler with a strong desire to sign it this summer for a long-term contract extension. Butler, 29, plans to become an unrestricted free agent.

Once Butler returned to the team to start the regular season, owner Glen Taylor assured Butler that the franchise would trade as soon as the organization would be satisfied with an offer, said sources of the League.

Taylor might be more interested in long-term asset projects than basketball operations chairman and coach Tom Thibodeau, who wants the Wolves to remain as contenders and possibly do not not part of the organization when many of these potential choices are communicated.

Nevertheless, these choices could become immediate business assets for Minnesota to use in other transactions – or perhaps prompt new teams to accept the remaining $ 48 million from Gorgui Dieng in a transaction.

Butler, 29, has an average of 24.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.8 steals in his first four starts this season.