The NBA trade deadline draws closer by the day, and as always, the transaction cycle remains headlined by the same small group of players. On Monday, the Miami Heat suspended Jimmy Butler indefinitely after he walked out of a shootaround upon receiving the news that he would be benched. While that doesn’t exactly guarantee a trade, it is certainly the latest, and firmest, step the Heat have taken in that direction.
The market is paralyzed waiting for the Butler situation to play out. Sellers are waiting to make moves for the chance that they could be paid to participate as a cap facilitator. Buyers are afraid to go all-in on other targets without knowing what will become of Butler. Monday’s development may well have created the conditions necessary to finally create a deal, and unsurprisingly, today’s rumors almost all revolve around Butler in some way, shape or form.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Phoenix Suns cannot trade for Jimmy Butler without including Bradley Beal (unless they want to include Devin Booker or Kevin Durant, which they do not). That means completing a Butler deal will not only require someone to take Beal, but for Beal to accept that team via his no-trade clause. Neither outcome has seemed likely thus far this trade season, and now, we can cross another team off of the list.
The Chicago Bulls were a popular Beal destination for several reasons. The Bulls aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so the opportunity cost of taking on Beal wouldn’t have been especially high. With Zach LaVine possibly going elsewhere before the deadline, the Bulls even have a salary slot Beal could have filled. Chicago’s rebuild needs more assets. Taking in Beal could have helped the Bulls get some.
But in this case, it takes three to tango: the team trading Beal (Phoenix), the team acquiring him (Chicago) and Beal himself. According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, Beal is not willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Bulls. And, well, that makes sense. Why would any player choose to go from a win-now team in a warm city to a rebuilding team in a cold city?
Beal hasn’t ruled out accepting a trade elsewhere, the Bulls just don’t check those two boxes. If Phoenix could find him a winner, ideally in a warmer locale, he’d reportedly be open-minded about a move. If the Bulls are the best the Suns can do, though, it looks like Beal will stay put and Butler will have to accept that he can’t get to Phoenix.
Miami’s price on Jimmy Butler going down?
Butler’s price as a trade asset has always been somewhat ambiguous. He is a former All-Star, but he’s 35 and doesn’t play a style that suggests he’s going to age well. He wants a contract extension and he’s shown that he’s willing to be disruptive to get it. He’s also one of this era’s best playoff performers. It hasn’t helped that only one team, the Suns, is known to have pursued Butler particularly aggressively, but the Heat are not known for caving to the demands of other teams or their own players. They won’t make a trade that hurts them.
But according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, they are at least starting to get a bit more flexible. He reported on SportsCenter on Tuesday that the Heat’s asking price has dropped and that they are “willing to do more” to make a deal. Windhorst did not get more specific than that, but notably, the Heat have thus far resisted taking on any contracts that extend beyond the 2025-26 season, as they are currently slated for significant cap space that offseason. Lowering their asking price could mean receiving less in the way of assets. It could also mean potentially taking on a longer contract to get Butler out the door.
Of course, so far as we know, that flexibility has not extended far enough for them to absorb Beal. Windhorst describes the Beal contract as “basically the most untradable in the league.” If the pool of viable suitors expands, though, Miami could wind up taking on money from somebody else.
In the past, teams like the Bucks and Grizzlies have reportedly considered runs at Butler, but have not gotten far in those pursuits. Would Phoenix falling out of the running open the door back up for them? Potentially, especially if Butler is available at a discount. Milwaukee has only one tradable first-round pick left, its 2031 selection. The Grizzlies control all of their own draft capital, but draft so well that paying a premium in terms of picks hurts them more than it hurts most teams. For now, both teams look more like fringe contenders than real threats for the championship. Getting Butler at the right price could change that.
