We’re inching closer to the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6, so of course the rumors are heating up around the league. The center of attention is obviously Jimmy Butler who was recently suspended for two games by the Miami Heat. It feels as though a divorce between the two sides is inevitable, but it won’t be easy as Butler’s preferred choice in the Phoenix Suns lacks assets to pull it off.
We’ve seen teams pull off the impossible before, and Butler’s situation may be no different. With that in mind, here’s all the latest on Butler as well as the rest of the rumors circulating around the league.
Wizards, Pistons could help facilitate Butler trade to Phoenix
At this point, it feels like Butler getting traded to Phoenix is more of a when than if, but the “when” is still resting on two very important pieces. Bradley Beal has to waive his no-trade clause for any of this to work for Phoenix, and the most recent update is that the Suns haven’t talked to Beal about any trade scenarios. Now, let’s say Beal does waive that clause; the next part is finding other teams willing to help the Suns pull off what is expected to be a complicated trade. However, Phoenix may already have a few teams willing to get in on this deal, specifically the Wizards, Pistons, Hornets and Raptors, per Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwll.
Goodwill reports that all four teams could “operate as facilitators” to get Butler to Phoenix, but again, figuring out all the moving pieces is difficult. Beal wants to be in a winning situation, so that rules out the Raptors, Wizards and Hornets to a lesser extent, leaving the Pistons as the only viable landing spot, as they currently sit sixth in the East. The Pistons landing Beal would certainly bolster their offense for a serious playoff push, but is he the type of player they want to add to what’s been an impressive core this season?
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are growing weary in Los Angeles as the Lakers continue to sit and do nothing with those two tradable first-round picks at their disposal. Some small positive news did come through La La Land, though, as Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to make his season debut on Saturday, but just as quickly as he returns to the rotation, Vanderbilt is already being thrown into trade rumors.
If the Lakers try and trade Vanderbilt, though, the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike reports they don’t stand to get a good return for the injured forward.
“Multiple NBA executives believe the cost to include Vanderbilt in a trade is a first-round pick, meaning he’s far more valuable to the Lakers as a usable player than he would be as part of a trade in which they would have to add assets and essentially be overpaying for whatever they got back.”
That makes sense. Vanderbilt hasn’t played since February 1, 2024, so even if he returns two weeks before the trade deadline, that likely won’t be enough to make teams want to trade for him. It looks like the Lakers will have to explore other avenues to upgrade their roster, something both James and Davis have expressed to the front office that they would like to see happen.
