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LA Clippers: Rockets reportedly offer Wolves four first-round picks for Butler

By Garrett Chorpenning

TORONTO, ON- OCTOBER 24 - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler (23) as theToronto Raptors start their season 5-0 with a 112-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. October 24, 2018. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON- OCTOBER 24 - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler (23) as theToronto Raptors start their season 5-0 with a 112-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. October 24, 2018. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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The Houston Rockets are reportedly offering Minnesota a trade package including four first-round picks for LA Clippers trade target Jimmy Butler.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Houston Rockets have reportedly upped their offer to the Minnesota Timberwolves to four future-first-round picks in order to acquire four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler.

It’s important to make it clear that this is a package that includes four future-firsts, and is not limited to just those picks. Of course, given Houston’s projected success over the next few seasons, each of those picks will likely fall in the 21-30 range of each round. Still though, Houston appears to be giving up quite a bit for Butler.

Four picks is the maximum allowed by the NBA, with new rules allowing no picks to be traded in successive years over a maximum of seven years. That means the final pick in this reported package will be a 2025 first-round selection. Per Wojnarowski, the protections on these picks are limited as well.

At the moment, the Timberwolves front office is reportedly still holding firm with their decision to retain Butler, says The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. However, he also notes that these things can change rather quickly.

The LA Clippers have been interested in acquiring Butler since the beginning of the season, and chances are, this hasn’t changed. Given the weight of Houston’s offer, though, the Clippers should consider themselves effectively out of the race to acquire the superstar swingman. Besides, Minnesota was reportedly only interested in receiving Tobias Harris in exchange for Butler, something LA was (rightfully) hesitant to go forward with.

The Miami Heat are another team that has held interest in Butler for quite some time, and up until recently, were considered the frontrunners to land the 29-year-old. That is, until Pat Riley reportedly pulled the plug on discussions with Minnesota.

Whether the Timberwolves accept Houston’s offer is anyone’s guess at this point, but it’s hard to comprehend any reason why they would say no. This is all-but-certainly Butler’s final season with the Wolves, since he controls his own destiny next summer. It’s also becoming apparent that Butler’s presence on the team is impacting teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, who has posted career-lows almost across the table since the season started.

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It seems safe to assume that Butler will be moved in the near future. To everyone’s knowledge, this is by far the best offer the Wolves have received thus far. Still though, this isn’t something anyone should bet on — it’s as weird a situation as we’ve seen in the NBA in recent years.