A new trade proposal involving the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets might be an excellent move for both teams.
The Heat have to realize that they aren’t contenders as currently constructed, which means they should get a Jimmy Butler trade done so that they don’t lose him for nothing this offseason.
Then there’s Houston, who have a problem closing games, as The Ringer’s Bill Simmons noted during the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
The Rockets would benefit immensely from bringing in a closer like Butler, but at what cost?
Simmons outlined the deal that would make the most sense for both sides.
“You could actually use (Fred) VanVleet as part of a mega trade,” Simmons said.
“If it’s VanVleet, and it’s (Steven) Adams’s expiring and (Jae’Sean) Tate’s expiring, and Cam Whitmore … and you get Butler and (Terry) Rozier back, and you put a pick in that trade, and Miami is saving $7 million just on that deal, plus they get a pick, they get to look at Whitmore, they get VanVleet, they get to kind of stay peripherally competitive this year … that trade makes sense to me for both sides.”
“It allows Miami to re-boot. It allows Houston to end up with Butler, (Dillon) Brooks, (Alperen) Şengün, (Jalen) Green, Rozier, Jabari (Smith Jr.), (Amen Thompson and Tari Eason), and (Jock) Landale.”
“I like VanVleet, but I think they could get by without him.”
This seems like an obvious win for the Rockets, but would Miami pull the trigger on this trade?
VanVleet might be one of the best players the Heat could end up with in a Butler deal. He’s also in a pseudo-expiring situation since he has a team option next season.
Who says no?
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