The Jimmy Butler trade saga seems to be ramping up. Recent reports suggest that the Miami Heat could move the two-time NBA Finalist could be moved by after failed contract extension talks between the two sides. Multiple teams have been linked to Butler already, but it seems he’s leaning towards two specific destinations according to ESPN’s Shams Charania – the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.
“The Suns and the Warriors are believed to be atop their list, his preferred win-now destination, if the Miami Heat were to trade him, with the Rockets and Mavericks being the others. This is a fluid situation that we’ll see play out over the coming weeks.”
The initial wave of reporting about trade interest in Butler suggested the Warriors along with the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks could be contenders for a Butler trade. Neither the Rockets nor the Mavericks have an explicit need for a $49 million player like Butler, but the Warriors have been aggressively looking to add a veteran co-star next to Stephen Curry.
Charania also reported that the Suns were interested in Butler after the first three teams were mentioned, leading to Butler’s agent directly disputing the report. However, the murmurs around the Suns haven’t died out and Charania doubled down on his report, calling it the most vetted story of his career.
“I 1000% stand on the reporting. This is probably the most vetted story that I’ve ever put out and I’m that confident in this story. This is exactly where it is, The Heat are open to listening to offers on Jimmy Butler, that’s what sources told me last week. There’s no urgency though. He’s on a $49 million contract this season with a $52 million player option for next year.”
Butler would be a defined third option in Phoenix behind Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, with the Suns needing to find a destination for Bradley Beal to accommodate a trade financially. Finding a trade partner for Beal is going to be nearly impossible, as he’s on a multi-year supermax with a no-trade clause, meaning Beal needs to agree on whatever destination he’s being sent to.
Butler is averaging 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.0 assists this season, as the Heat have recently shown a lot of competitive fire in trying to lock down a Playoff berth in the East.
It’s clear that the franchise’s future is a partnership between Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, so trading Butler for win-now assets would be in their best interests as compared to losing him for nothing in free agency.
The Warriors would have a more appealing package given they control their own future first-round picks and could offer interesting players such as Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins.
The Suns have Bradley Beal and one first-round pick swap in their arsenal, with the Heat previously showing a lack of interest in acquiring Beal. A three-team deal will likely be needed with a team that would have mutual interest in having Beal on their roster given the Suns guard can veto any trade he’s included in.
