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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/17/jimmy-butler-trade-rumors-houston-rockets-news/\nJimmy Butler trade rumors explained: What it all means for the Rockets\nJimmy Butler to Houston? Not necessarily, but whispers of a change in locale for the four-time All-Star are growing louder by the minute. If you haven’t kept up with the rumblings, here is what you need to know about the Rockets’ place in the silent sweepstakes.\nWhy we are talking about a trade\nButler may want out of Minnesota. According to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, Butler will meet with head coach Tom Thibodeau and Timberwolves GM Scott Layden to “have honest conversations” about his future with the team on Monday.\nThere are a few things to bear in mind. One is Butler’s seeming incompatibility with other franchise cornerstones.\nIn June, Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported that Butler’s patience with Andrew Wiggins’ development was wearing thin:\nSources familiar with the situation told Sporting News that Butler is uncertain about playing with Wiggins — Butler had problems last season with Wiggins, his work ethic and his approach on the defensive end of the floor. Thibodeau has had similar problems with Wiggins in the past, too, and he had some hope that bringing a tough-minded veteran like Butler into the locker room would spur Wiggins to improve. It didn’t.\nIn July, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times reported that Butler had similar issues with the work ethic of Karl-Anthony Towns:\nA league source said Butler, who has been frustrated with the nonchalant attitudes of younger teammates — specifically Karl-Anthony Towns — does not intend to sign an extension with the Timberwolves.\n“I just don’t think there have been many people that have understood how important winning is to me, man,’’ Butler told the Sun-Times in late April. “I just had a conversation about that very thing with somebody — not important who — but I put so much into this game, and I only play to win.”\nThe Athletic’s Shams Charania described today’s meeting as a “last-ditch effort” to keep Butler, adding that the team will not proceed with an extension for Towns until everything is sorted out.\nFrom our own @ShamsCharania, latest on Jimmy Butler seriously contemplating Minnesota future. pic.twitter.com/bi0cV3GXTE\n— Stadium (@WatchStadium) September 17, 2018\nButler already reportedly declined a four-year $110-million extension to stay in Minnesota, but that does not necessarily mean he is gone. If he holds out until 2019 free agency, he will be eligible for a five-year max extension, worth $188 million. Regardless, his long-term arc needs to be cemented before Minnesota moves ahead.\nWhy we are talking about a trade to the Rockets\nButler is a Houston native who grew up dreaming of a career with the Rockets—a desire he made known to Marc Stein of The New York Times back in April:\nAll-Star forward Jimmy Butler comes across as the proudest former resident in the history of tiny Tomball, Texas. What he doesn’t advertise in his Twitter biography, but also doesn’t dispute, is that he grew up dreaming of becoming a Houston Rocket like his hero Tracy McGrady.\n“It was Houston everything for me,” said Butler, who grew up in Tomball, roughly 30 miles from Houston’s city center. “Whatever sport I was in love with at the time, I wanted to be playing for the Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, Houston Texans. I was Houston to the death.”\nThe Rockets may not be done dealing. GM Daryl Morey recently stated that the team still possesses tradable assets and will pursue avenues toward improvement as they present themselves:\n“When you’re trying to win a title, there is always fine tuning; you can always get better. We have all our draft picks going forward, so if something presents itself that allows us to make a trade to improve the team, we’re not going to hesitate to do that. I think a lot of times people try to make their team perfect from Day 1. We try to add a bunch of players we think can contribute and then tweak it as you go down the season and hopefully peak in April as we go into the playoffs.”\nHouston’s biggest need is an elite two-way wing, it is a willing taxpayer, and acquiring Butler would fling its contention window open hard enough to shake the shutters. The backward step of losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah Moute in free agency would be a bygone narrative.\nWhat would a Butler trade look like?\nThe following players are presently not tradable:\nMichael Carter-Williams\nReason: When a player signs in free agency, he is ineligible for trade until Dec. 15 or three months after the date of the signing. This restriction applies to all players listed above.\nMarquese Chriss\nReason: When a team that is above the salary cap receives a player via trade, that player cannot be packaged with another player for two months (expires Oct. 31). The player can be traded individually, but Knight or Chriss for Butler straight up is not going to happen.\nFirst and foremost, shooting guard Eric Gordon would be the most likely tangible asset to be included in a trade for Butler. He is by far the most productive non-essential part of Houston’s core, and his $13.5-million salary in 2018-19 gets the Rockets toward the neighborhood of Butler’s $20.5 million (after applying Butler’s five-percent trade kicker).\nTheoretically, forward P.J. Tucker could round things out salary-wise, but that would cause issues with the Rockets’ frontcourt rotation. And while his contract is friendly, it does nothing to ensure a prosperous future for Minnesota. Houston would more likely include draft assets.\nBut that’s where we hit a sticking point. The Rockets could dangle their 2019 first-round pick and perhaps future seconds for additional compensation, but Gordon and draft picks probably doesn’t cut it. Even bringing Nene Hilario into the mix—who, would be a buyout candidate after a trade’s completion—in order to help balance the books doesn’t make an offer all that appetizing.\nThere are likely other teams that can put together a stronger package for Butler if the Timberwolves see trade as their only option. If Houston does place a call, Gordon’s name will almost surely be mentioned.\nIn June, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported that if the Rockets missed out on big stars, they may elect to extend Gordon. The former has yet to trigger the latter, possibly because Houston is still figuring out its direction.\nOf course, if the Timberwolves somehow decided to keep Butler for another couple months, Chriss and Knight can enter the equation, though it seems reasonable that whatever is brewing in Minnesota will yield firm actions in the week to come.\nSo, yes, a trade for Butler is technically possible, but not immediately likely. More will be known as the drama plays out.\nRockets at Pacers: Betting odds, point spread for Wednesday night\nIn a battle of the No. 4 teams in the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, from last season, the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers will face off in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. Both sides are widely viewed as solid playoff contenders this year, as well.\nThe Pacers (5-2) are off to a better start in the 2020-21 campaign than the Rockets (2-3), though Houston's record is dampened by two extremely shorthanded losses to open the season when John Wall, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins, and others were out due to a mandatory quarantine. Since then, Houston has won two of...\nRockets’ James Harden likes how Stephen Silas has handled new coaching job\nRockets stats: James Harden, Christian Wood score 75 in overtime loss\nAll-Star guard James Harden led the way for Houston with 44 points (55% FG) and 17 assists, while new starting center Christian Wood had a remarkable debut with 31 points (64% FG) and 13 rebounds.\nYet, because of a similarly epic showing by Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, Portland survived Saturday night's thriller in overtime, 128-126 (box score). It was the first game of the 2020-21 regular season for the Rockets (0-1), while the Blazers evened their record at 1-1. McCollum scored 44 and hit a career-high nine shots from 3-point range.\nHarden hit two stepback treys in..."