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Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have reached a breaking point, and with the Phoenix Suns currently languishing out West, it’s only natural to wonder if these two imperfect parties could make each other whole with one unexpected trade.
We’ve consistently pointed out how unlikely such a blockbuster move would be, for myriad reasons, but things have shifted even more dramatically in South Beach since then, and it’s a topic worth revisiting at this point.
So rather than taking a more pessimistic (or realistic, depending on how you view it) angle, we’re going to explore how Phoenix could actually acquire Jimmy Butler: What stars would have to align, what would have to happen on Miami’s end, and the various hurdles that are standing in the way.
The latest on the Jimmy Butler front
Three weeks ago, PHNX Sports reported the Suns were not pursuing a trade for Jimmy Butler, preferring to wait and see how the team looked over the next 10-20 games once they were fully healthy again. At the time, Phoenix sported a 1-9 record without Kevin Durant, but they had gone 11-2 with Durant in the lineup, backing up the front office’s belief that this team could resume their winning ways once they were whole.
Since then, the Suns have gone 3-6, despite having KD back for all nine of those games. In fairness, Devin Booker missed five of those and Bradley Beal (basically) missed four, suffering a left hip contusion in Phoenix’s most recent game that limited him to just 12 minutes of action. But at a certain point, it’s worth wondering if the Big 3’s inability to stay healthy — combined with the team’s underwhelming performances even when two of their three stars are available — might change the thinking in Phoenix.
The Suns wanted some time to see if they could get whole and go back to being the contender they looked like during their 9-2 start. So far, the answer has been “no” on both fronts. A source told PHNX Sports on Friday morning that nothing had changed on the Butler front, but also noted that things could get more interesting over the coming weeks.
Butler, meanwhile, has been positioning himself to leave Miami for awhile now, and things may have reached a breaking point Thursday night when reporters asked him what he wanted to see happen after an uninspiring 9-point performance where he only took six shots in 27 minutes.
“What do I want to see happen? I want to see me get my joy back from playing basketball,” Butler said. “Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon, but I want to get my joy back. I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop, and I want to help this team win. Right now, I’m not doing that.”
When asked whether he could get his joy back in Miami, Butler responded bluntly, “Probably not.”
Not long after that postgame interview, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Jimmy Butler had formally indicated that he wanted to play anywhere but Miami, naming the Suns, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks as his preferred destinations.
Eight days after Pat Riley and the Heat released their “We are not trading Jimmy Butler” statement, Butler fired back with an “Anywhere but Miami” rebuttal.
Where the Suns (and Bradley Beal) come in
At face value, opening up the list of possible destinations would almost certainly rule out Phoenix, since it feels highly unlikely their trade package would be the Heat’s preferred return, or even one that could beat out other suitors’ offers.
However, that’s more than likely just a turn of phrase to make his intentions as clear as possible. Usually in these situations, star players are pushing behind the scenes to reach their desired trade destinations.
Furthermore, with Butler having a $52.4 million player option this summer and the power to become an unrestricted free agent, any team giving up assets for him would either have to be comfortable with giving up those assets for a short-term rental, or they’d have to be interested in re-signing him to a longer deal. Upon being traded, Butler would be eligible for a two-year, $111 million extension with his new team.
For some teams, committing that much money to a 35-year-old Jimmy Buckets be a dicey proposition, especially when one considers the mercurial fashion in which his last few stints have ended. The Suns, however, have never been shy about making blockbuster moves no matter the luxury tax bill.
As we’ve covered before, as a second tax apron team, the Suns cannot take back a single dollar more than they send out in any trade, and they cannot aggregate outgoing salaries to trade for a higher-salaried player, no matter how many returning players or other teams are involved. From a trade math perspective, that means the only players Phoenix could legally send out for Butler’s $48.8 million salary are either Kevin Durant ($51.2 million), Bradley Beal ($50.2 million) or Devin Booker ($49.2 million).
The Suns aren’t trading their best player in KD when he’s far better than Butler at this stage, and regardless of how one feels about Booker’s slow start to the season, they aren’t trading their 28-year-old face of the franchise either — especially for a 35-year-old heading for free agency. By process of elimination, that leaves Beal, who controls his destiny thanks to his no-trade clause.
(NOTE: The Heat would have to send Phoenix an additional veteran minimum player like Josh Richardson or Alec Burks to make the trade math work in a straight-up deal with Phoenix, using a vet minimum loophole that ensures both teams aren’t violating any tax apron rules.)
When asked about how he was handling the Jimmy Butler trade rumors on Dec. 20, Beal made it clear no conversations had been had about him getting traded.
“The same thing until one of them comes and says something to me and talk to me,” Beal said. “It’s just out there, so… I’m a Phoenix Sun, and I’m here, and I’m in the uniform. But I don’t pay attention to that, man. They did that with me for 10 years.”
There’s a chance Beal would want to stay in Phoenix and continue playing for a team that wants to contend now. Then again, the Suns’ situation has obviously gotten worse since then, and he could go back to being a No. 1 or No. 2 option in Miami, a team that currently has a better record (and an easier path to advancing in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference).
It’s worth a reminder that Beal had interest in joining the Heat before the Suns swung a trade for him in the summer of 2023, and Beal also played college basketball at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Although he recently talked about tuning out the outside noise, he and his family probably aren’t immune to what’s been said about him over the last year in Phoenix, especially as he’s struggled to deal with injuries and adapting to being a No. 3 scoring option.
Beal has all the power to hold up a potential deal, but it’s not impossible to imagine him being open to another change of scenery at this point.
Where the Heat come in
With that being said, Miami’s position is even more important than how Beal would approach his no-trade clause. Contrary to popular belief, the Heat don’t have to trade Jimmy Butler.
Would it be better to get assets for him now and resolve this whole toxic situation? Absolutely. That’s especially true for a team that needs to make the playoffs in order to hang onto two future first-round draft picks, and Beal is a win-now piece that could help them stay afloat in the East.
On Friday evening, the Heat backed down from their “We’re not trading Jimmy Butler” stance, issuing a new statement that they would listen to offers…while also suspending him for seven games due to “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”
To that end, it appears Miami is very ready to move on after things reached a point of no return this week. As Charania reported Friday night, “the goal right now is to move Butler as soon as possible.”
However, both ESPN and The Miami Herald have reported that the Heat have no interest in taking on Beal’s salary. So if the incoming offers aren’t good enough, Pat Riley may feel inclined to reverse course and either let Butler walk in free agency or coordinate a sign-and-trade this summer.
That feels unlikely after Friday’s slate of news, but Riley has never been the type to blink in a staring contest either. Lowball offers could back him into a corner of trying to call Jimmy Buckets’ bluff, knowing that if Butler opts out this summer, only the Brooklyn Nets have the cap space to sign him to a max contract with a starting salary of $40 million.
The Heat could also wait to sign-and-trade him over the summer, when more of the league will have extra cap space and flexibility. As The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson pointed out, if the Heat sign-and-trade Butler, loop in a third or fourth team to take on the incoming salaries, and avoid taking on salary themselves, they’d shed a ton of cap space while creating a massive trade exception worth Butler’s first-year salary (probably somewhere in the $40 million range).
It’s the same type of move the Warriors used last summer in the Klay Thompson sign-and-trade to acquire Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson.
But let’s assume a sign-and-trade is out, that Jimmy Butler doesn’t care about finding a team in free agency that will give him max money, and that leaving Miami empty-handed over the summer would be matter of principle for him. The Heat need to make the playoffs this year to keep those future picks, but they would still benefit from letting him walk for nothing in free agency, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks pointed out:
To that end, the Heat will be targeting a deal that keeps them competitive and creates financial flexibility this year and beyond. Liberating everyone from this messy situation would make things a lot easier, but they don’t necessarily need to accept a bad offer either.
A return of Beal and some draft picks from Phoenix — with only the Suns’ 2031 pick to offer in terms of first-rounders — keeps Miami in position to compete for a playoff spot, but it would saddle them with Beal’s $50.2 million salary this year, plus another $53.7 million salary for next year and a $57.1 million player option for 2026-27.
At that point, are the Heat better off trying to sit Butler for the rest of the year rather than taking on that kind of contract? Keeping Butler could create more contention with the NBPA and spread drama throughout the locker room, and Miami might struggle to make the postseason as a result.
Charania noted that Butler “does plan to take part in all team activities and do whatever the Heat ask of him during this process,” but that came before Miami’s seven-game suspension that the NBPA filed a lengthy grievance against, and he’s clearly looked disengaged over the last two games.
Open trade situations can be a distraction for a team regardless of how well (or how poorly) they’re handled, so moving on may be the best course of action for the Heat. The question is, if they’re dead-set on moving him before the trade deadline, who are the main suitors that would have interest in Butler and could put together a more competitive offer?
Where the other Jimmy Butler suitors come in
The Warriors would appear to be the biggest competition, since they’re on Butler’s list, have a number of stackable contracts and young players to offer, plus a lot more first-round picks than Phoenix could provide. But there are plenty of obstacles there too.
For starters, the Warriors are a hard-capped, first tax apron team, and the Heat can’t take back more salary than they send out as a first apron team.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green would be off limits, which means Andrew Wiggins would almost have to be included because of his $26.3 million salary. But much like Beal, do the Heat want the remaining two years and $58.4 million left on Wiggins’ contract after this year? They’d certainly want Jonathan Kuminga, as Clutch Points’ Brett Siegel reported, but Golden State may be inclined to keep him off limits with the way he’s played recently.
All in all, the Warriors might have to involved a third or a fourth team to get a deal done — not impossible, but certainly tricky.
UPDATE: Saturday morning, The Athletic reported that the Warriors are unlikely to pursue a Jimmy Butler trade.
Meanwhile, the Rockets are reportedly not interested in Butler, and the Mavs may lack the assets, which would require a third or fourth team to reroute outgoing contracts and make the trade math work while still appeasing Miami.
The Heat may need a surprise suitor to emerge, hoping that Butler truly is as open to going “anywhere but Miami,” as his camp claims. But if no such team emerges, or if Butler is angling behind the scenes to get to where he wants to go? Phoenix would then vault to the near the top of the list.
So what happens if Butler starts telling prospective suitors that he won’t re-sign with them this summer in free agency? That would kill his trade market and leave Pat Riley to decide between taking a potential worse offer from a team like Phoenix, or letting this awkward situation fester until the summer.
There’s a possibility Riley re-engages in this stubborn game of chicken rather than take Phoenix’s deal. Perhaps the Suns find a way to loop in a third team, using that team’s assets to appease Miami while providing Beal with a new home he’d be willing waive his no-trade clause for (maybe the Chicago Bulls, where Beal would be the No. 1 option in a city closer to his hometown of St. Louis?).
It’s not impossible, but it’s certainly a lot of hoops to jump through in order for the Suns to win the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes.
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