Jimmy Butler is potentially on the trade block, and when ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Miami’s interest in possibly dealing its All-Star forward, three teams were named as destinations he would be interested in: the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. Now, though, a fourth possibility has emerged. According to Charania, Butler has indicated he would be open to joining the Phoenix Suns.
Before we dissect this possibility, it should be noted that Butler’s agent Bernie Lee denied Charania’s reporting in a series of tweets Wednesday. Butler, himself, didn’t shoot the trade rumors down on Wednesday, though. “I don’t know,” Butler said. “I’m pretty sure y’all are going to get a report that’s going to say otherwise anyways. So there’s no sense in me answering that question.”
The Suns come up frequently in star trade talks because they are by far the most aggressive win-now team in the NBA. The trouble is that they spent most of their draft capital landing Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and even if they had more to work with, their finances make a mega trade extraordinarily difficult.
The Suns currently have over $220 million in salary on their books for this season. That takes them a staggering $31 million or so above the second apron, meaning that they not only need to deal with the restrictions that come with the aprons, but that they are so far above them that there isn’t really hope of ducking back below this season to open up more trade possibilities. Basically, there is only a very narrow path to a deal here.
Teams that are above the first apron cannot bring back more salary in a trade than they themselves send out. Teams above the second apron also need to abide by that restriction, but they also cannot aggregate salaries in a trade. What this essentially means where Phoenix and Butler are concerned is that the Suns would need to send out a single player earning as much or more than Butler this season to make a trade legal.
The Suns have three such players. Kevin Durant is likely off limits. He’s just better than Butler. Devin Booker is probably off of the table as well simply because he is seven years younger. That leaves Bradley Beal, who is earning $50.2 million this season, which is just a hair above Butler’s $48.8 million salary.
In basketball terms, a swap here makes sense. The Suns are extremely guard-heavy, but could balance out their lineup by turning Beal into a bigger forward in Butler. The Suns have so much shooting that Butler’s limitations from deep wouldn’t be an issue. Phoenix can also dangle its 2031 unprotected first-round pick, a pretty valuable chip considering how old and inflexible they are, as a sweetener for Miami. Impressive young defender Ryan Dunn would also surely interest the Heat. So there is a reasonable framework here.
But there are still two major complications to consider. The first is Beal’s no-trade clause. He waived it to get to Phoenix, but he didn’t drop it from his contract entirely. If the Suns want to trade him, they still need his permission. Miami was a rumored destination for Beal back when the Washington Wizards were trying to trade him, but that was with Butler on the roster. It’s unclear if Beal would be interested in joining the Heat without Butler around, as such a trade would indicate that they are not immediately trying to win the championship.
Let’s say Beal accepts a trade to the Heat. There would still be one more hurdle for the two sides to clear. The Heat are above the first apron, so they cannot bring in more money than they send out in any deal. That means a one-for-one Butler-for-Beal swap would be illegal. They can, however, cover the difference by sending salary to a third party that has the means to absorb it. That’s harder to do now than it was in the past because teams can no longer go into the season below the salary floor, meaning there is less cap space floating around the league than there usually would be during trade season. Right now, only the Pistons are below the cap. There are teams with usable trade exceptions, but those teams would likely need to be persuaded with draft capital to take on extra money.
In other words, this is doable, but not easy. The Suns and Heat would need help to make a Butler-for-Beal swap, but if they could find it, and if Beal agreed to such a trade, it makes some sense for both sides depending on what other offers are out there. That doesn’t make a deal likely. Any in-season blockbuster involving superstars and apron teams is going to be incredibly complex in this apron-influenced era we’re living in. These are two aggressive and creative front offices. If there’s a way to make a sensible deal here, they’ll figure it out.
