Jimmy Butler's ECF Performance Ignites Houston Rockets' What-If Scenario

Jimmy Butler's epic eastern conference performances bring back a what-if scenario for the Houston Rockets.

HOUSTON — Jimmy Butler left the court of the FTX Arena wondering what-if. The Miami Heat trailed by as many as 17 points with less than three minutes left in a Game 7 battle against the Boston Celtics during the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. 

Miami went on a late-game run that brought them within two points with 27.2 seconds left in regulation. Following a miss from Marcus Smart, Butler had a chance to tie the game by taking advantage of Al Horford but went for a 3-point field goal attempt. Butler's shot hit the front iron of the rim resulting in a 100-96 defeat to the Celtics on Sunday. 

Butler and the Heat failed to return to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year. His shot left many wondering about the endless possibilities had his triple went in. 

But Miami's conjectures do not compare to the what-if probabilities had the Houston Rockets landed Butler in the summer of 2019. 

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler

"My thought process was to go for the win — which I did," Butler said after the loss. "I missed the shot. But I am taking that shot. My teammates liked the shot that I took. So I am going to live with it."

Former general manager Daryl Morey went all-in on his attempt to land Butler when the six-time NBA All-Star hit free agency in 2019. The Rockets needed a third star to pair with James Harden and Chris Paul after being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in back-to-back seasons.

Acquiring Butler would have given the Rockets a reliable scoring option on offense, but his addition would have been more significant on the defensive side of the ball.

The Rockets wanted to pay Butler the four-year max contract. Since they did not have the cap space, Houston was willing to execute a sign-and-trade deal to send assets back to the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Per ESPN, Houston was close to luring the Texas native back home, but Butler ghosted the Rockets prior to signing with the Heat. Butler's decision to take his talents to South Beach ended the Rockets' year-long pursuit of the two-way star.

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler

Houston failed to acquire Butler in November of 2018 following his trade request from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"The Rockets were ready to commit to full-time small ball if they could get Jimmy Butler last summer, ESPN's Tim MacMahon said. "A Butler sign-and-trade would have required Morey to perform some salary cap gymnastics, but he had trades lined up to move the eight-figure salaries of [Clint] Capela and Eric Gordon."

After missing out on Butler, the Rockets settled for a consolation prize by acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Three years later, it is clear that Houston would have extended their championship window had the franchise signed Butler in 2019.

Butler has since led the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2020 while elevating his game to the league's top tear talents. He averaged 41.0 points on 54.7 percent shooting from the field, to go along with 9.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists during the final two games of the eastern conference finals.

The Rockets have since plummeted to basketball purgatory after missing out on Butler. A disappointing end to the 2019-20 campaign resulted in Houston starting a rebuild where the franchise recorded the league's worst record over the previous two seasons.