This team thought they were front-runners to sign Jimmy Butler before he ‘ghosted’ them
Jimmy Butler almost didn’t end up in Miami.
In fact, the Tomball, Texas, native almost went home.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Houston Rockets general manager Darly Morey not only wanted to give Butler the four-year max but also had lined up trades for Clint Capela and Eric Gordon. But how did the deal fall apart?
“He ghosted them,” MacMahon said of Butler on a recent podcast. “They thought they had him, and he left them hanging.”
This not only confirmed a previous Marc Stein report about Morey’s willingness to depart with Capela but added the new piece of information.
Finding a team willing to take on Gordon’s contract meant the Rockets officially had the cap space to sign Butler. All Morey had to do was convince the four-time All-Star that being paired with an “unstoppable” talent like James Harden was a great fit. Throw in Tomball’s close proximity to Houston and Butler playing in the Toyota Center starts to make sense.
Of course things probably turned out for the better.
The Rockets ended up rescuing Russell Westbrook out of Oklahoma City meanwhile Butler and Miami seem to be a perfect match. On top of that, Philadelphia acquired a great piece in Josh Richardson and still had enough cash flow to grab Al Horford.
Still, one can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if Butler had signed with Houston. Would Morey still have made the Chris Paul trade? If so, what would a Westbrook-Harden-Butler team look like? If not, how would Paul and Butler’s personalities mesh?
While it’s all speculation at this point, it’s crazy to think how one simple move could’ve dramatically altered the NBA.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 1:09 PM.
