The trade talks around Jimmy Butler seem to be picking up speed again. Apparently the Houston Rockets have renewed their offer for the 29-year-old and made a lucrative offer to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports, the new trade proposal of the Rockets includes four future first round picks.
Houston is willing to sacrifice long-term management flexibility to go all-in with Butler as the third star alongside James Harden and Chris Paul.
The four first-round picks reported represent the maximum in a trade, as regulations in the NBA prohibit teams from shipping first-round picks in consecutive years. In addition, no pick may be traded later than seven seasons in advance.
As Woj further reports, the Timberwolves have kept their eyes open for offers for butlers even after the start of the regular season about one and a half weeks ago. Which players might be involved in a possible deal with the rockets is not yet known.
From October 31, however, Houston could sell the Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss that it had traded in the summer, which could be important for a financial deal.
A few weeks before the start of the season it had become known that Jimmy Butler no longer wanted to play in Minnesota and demanded a trade. Until the start of the season, the Timberwolves could not agree with any team, although especially the Miami Heat was said to be of great interest.
Although the shooting guard was not present at the Wolves training camp, he was still on the floor for Minnesota at the start of the season. In his four games in 2018/19 Butler scored 24.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.8 steals.