According to media reports, the Houston Rockets are still in the race for Jimmy Butler. Rockets-Owner Tilman Fertitta was now unusually offensive about a possible trade. The billionaire would love to see Butler on his team.
“We would love to bring Jimmy to Houston,” Fertitta told Steven Godfrey of SB Nation. “It’s not a financial decision, we’re just talking about the assets.”
The Timberwolves are supposed to charge a very high price for the All-Star, which is why a trade with the Miami Heat burst at the last moment. But the Rockets don’t want to take butlers at any price, as Fertitta stressed: “We are among the best teams in the league. We’re not going to give up players unnecessarily and leave our team just to get Jimmy Butler. But we’d love to have him with us.”
The Rockets won 65 games last season, but missed the finals by a narrow margin. In the Conference Finals the team finally lost to the Golden State Warriors after seven matches, some of which were fiercely contested.
The statements of the Rockets owner could, however, have consequences. The League could interpret Fertitta’s statements as “tampering”. The Lakers were punished twice for this last season. Among other things, team president Magic Johnson had to pay 50,000 dollars when he enthusiastically praised Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.