By: Bryce Fields

So, we are all aware of the Jimmy Butler show in Minnesota that has gone absolutely horribly the past month. The long story, short – Butler is pissed that some of his T-Wolves teammates (cough, Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins, cough) do not care enough about winning and now wants out of town. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said everything would be fine, to which Butler responded by finally showing up to practice and kicking the starters asses with “the third stringers and telling the front-office that the team couldn’t win without him.” The entire Butler/T-Wolves debacle has been a shit-show, and at this point, it is probably be better for each to part ways.

Cue the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were front runners to trade for Butler before the season began, but the trade never materialized, and the Miami Heat seemed poised to make a package to acquire Butler. However, it seems as the trade to Miami has officially fell through and that Houston is back on the phones to get Butler in a Rockets uniform.

Photo credit to ClutchPoints

Here is where the humor of the story comes out. First off, the Rockets are not having a fun start to the beginning of their season. They have a record of 1-3, have shown that their defense is terrible, and to top it all off, reigning MVP James Harden is now hurt. Not a lot of good things going on in Houston. As title contenders, trading for Butler seems to make sense.

Now, listen to this – the Houston Rockets are reportedly offering FOUR (4) first round picks for Butler. FOUR. I understand that Jimmy Butler is a two-way star in the NBA who is a former All-NBA selection, but four first round picks? Are the Rockets trying to screw themselves for the next decade? Let’s be honest with ourselves here folks; even if Houston does get Jimmy Butler, there is still one huge problem they are going to run into – the Golden State Warriors. The Butler/Harden/CP3/PJ Tucker/Clint Capela would honestly be a great starting lineup to match up with the Warriors, but who would be coming off the bench for them? The second-unit consisting of 2018 Carmelo Anthony, Michael Carter-Williams, Gerald Green, and Brandon Knight are probably NOT going to get the job done.

Not to mention, four first round draft picks? If you were unaware, the NBA has a rule requiring teams to only trade first-round draft picks for every other year. With the Rockets only having one first-round pick in any upcoming draft, this is going to 110% destroy any chance of the Rockets staying relevant past the next few years. Harden is an incredible player, but he is nearing 30 years old already. CP3 is pretty damn old, and Jimmy Butler is only under contract through the remainder of this season. Like it or not, the Rockets are nearing a need for a rebuild, even if getting Butler wins them an unlikely championship.

Apparently the Rockets are all in on winning the NBA Finals this year, even if it means destroying the future of the franchise.