Windhorst: “I’m hearing rumblings about Jimmy getting back to Houston”

Knicks Nets and Clippers could still very much get him, it’s just obvious they will chase someone else first and it would hurt negotiations down the road if they start telling him they want him but then wait to put it to paper.

 

Thanks brother

 

It’s not that, it’s that they were linked to him and you hear crickets. That’s the media but that’s also a representation of the organizations. Their not tight-lipped. Your hear about Kyrie to Brooklyn, KD to New York, Kawhi and Kemba to LAC. Butler at this moment is linked to Rockets and Lakers. Makes no sense. These scenarios are being played out now and not a week from now. I expect pretty much everyone knows where they are going even if the media don’t fully. Butler is not going to wait around to be someone’s consolation prize. Agents are playing the games now. Rockets make no sense to be used with all of those other options out there that will sign him to a max.

 

The absolute only way we get JB is if he demands trade to Houston to opt in. Then we will have to send Gordan and Tucker and probably a draft pick.

I would do it, although I know it would create a lot of holes.

 

We wouldn’t send that package. If he wants to come here the deal gets done. It’s not like a normal trade. We would send our picks and probably involve a 3rd team like Boston. Philly wants Horford and is trying to do the same thing we are. Boston is losing Kyrie and Horford and signing DLo so they are going to be right back into young asset acquisition. Nobody wants to lose an asset for nothing. That’s why the DLo/Kyrie angle.

 

If he wants to come here and if it’s an opt-in trade I would imagine it would still require a boat load of our assets to make it happen, similar to the CP3 trade. We’d essentially have to bid against ourselves setting the price for what it’d take to clear cap space to sign him out right. Otherwise we aren’t as much a threat for him to come here. To do so, Morey would realistically have to send out Capela, Gordon, and tucker along with multiple picks to trade them into cap space.

I would imagine Philly would want a close to similar bounty to participate in the opt in trade.

 

One thing I don’t see is Philly playing this out in the media. Either keep it quiet and just re-sign him or work out the contingency that he doesn’t want to stay. But they’ve been mum. I think?

 

I don't think so, this is just my opinion obviously, but the situations are different, at the time we didn't have salaries to match Chris contract, by what Morey said it really seemed like we had to throw in Trez just to match the salaries, Lou was expiring, Pat was coming off some injuries although he had a very good contract, Dekker didn't show much, the 1st rounder we were giving them was a 25/30...all things considered those assets were not that good as they sound today after Lou resigned and Trez became a better player. But regardless, we were literally forced to move all those salaries to match the contract, it's possible that if we had another contract around 5/10M we could've been able to keep Lou or Pat, or maybe Trez and Dekker.

In a trade with the Sixers we can easily match Butler's salary, and would probably trade them a player like Gordon which is a perfect fit, and probably the best player they can get this summer in any way unless they can get Middleton or Kawhi, which seems very unlikely.

Again, this is just me and i'm probably wrong but, i don't think we would've to trade much this time, if Butler decides he's gone from Philly, for them getting Gordon alone would be huge.

 

Yeah I think in terms of value from the rockets perspective, getting Gordon alone would be better than nothing should butler walk. But I just think from the Sixers perspective I’d be thinking how bad do you really want him? Because you can’t sign him outright without moving Capela, ego, and tuck and a pick or two to make it happen. To play ball I’ll trade him for 75% of that price.

In the CP3 situation, though those players were of less perceived value, it would have still required moving them into someone else’s cap space to be a real threat to the clippers for us to sign him outright. Which I think is why they just took what we would have given to clear them off the books. Maybe not at 100% value of what it would have taken. But close to it.

But as you said, I could be wrong, that’s just the way I’m interpreting the thinking of the market

 

You don’t think if they begin to feel like he’s for sure gone they don’t try to drum up trade value for him?

 

Exactly. People are so focused on Butler but Middleton is a better fit since he can knock down the 3, not to mention he’s younger and doesn’t have a history of being injured. Regardless, I still think all the talk of signing Butler is fantasy talk. We don’t have any cap space to sign either of these guys, and we’d have to give up a lot of good players to bring one person back.

Personally, I wish Morey would go after Malcolm Brogdon or Seth Curry and call it a day. We need shooters.

 

We have few avenues to get either without a SNT. Butler could opt in, he most likely won’t. Middleton is the better fit. If butler has a 5% chance of coming, Middleton has 0%.

 

Too much rumblings about a Drive-thru Houston.

 

I doubt he would shun a deal that he wants because he wasn’t the first target. But again, I don’t know that for sure.
Rockets get used all the time in the media, but you still have to appreciate Morey for it. Can’t have our GM not go after someone because how he’ll look when it doesn’t happen.

 

I don’t believe this guy.

 

Middleton is a fit on all Playoff teams and non Playoff teams in the NBA.

 

I actually think we would not be able to sign him even if we dump for no incoming salary Capela, Gordon and Tucker lol, they literally make the same money on,ly Chris is making, and dumping CP3 wouldn't be enough so, yeah...

But like, what i think is, the Sixers are also trying to compete so, if i'm them, i think the question is? If Butler is gone, whether it's for L.A, Brooklyn or Houston, i don't really don't care much (although i might prefer to see him in the other conference), i'm better if i go into free agency with 30M in cap space with the risk i'm also losing Harris? Or it's better for me to take back Gordon and go into free agency with still 15/20M? To me, the answer is pretty simple, again, unless i know/think i can get Kawhi or Middleton (which tbh, i'm not sure he's someone i'd max over taking Gordon and extend him around 20M per season).

This way, even in the worst case scenario, the one where i lose both Butler and Harris, i'd still come out with a super solid player like Gordon, who plays in a spot where it's difficult to find a good two way player, and fits perfectly with Embiid and Simmons. So, for me, in a scenario where Butler wants to go, it makes too much sense for Philly to take back Gordon and send Butler to the West instead of losing him for free and maybe watch him sign with Brooklyn.

 

This isn’t accurate at all

 

How so?

 

1) We had to give up a ton assets in the CP3 trade because it was the only way to make salaries work. For example, the Clippers didn't ask for Trez, we HAD to include him to make the money work.
2) There are several different ways to get to a max salary slot in a S&T if that is the route we have to go. Gordon+NGdeals+Nene...Capela+NGdeals+Nene...Shumpert S&T to a third team + Nene to Philly...etc.

The idea that the ONLY way to make a deal for Butler is trading all of our role players is silly. It never costs that much to get a player who has free agency as a leverage.