Brian Windhorst joined Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon on ‘NBA on ESPN’ to discuss the rumor mill surrounding Jimmy Butler. The veteran sportswriter touched on a few likely destinations for the Miami Heat star, including the Phoenix Suns.
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“I know that the Suns have interest in Jimmy Butler. This is not a controversial statement,” Windhorst said. “For the Suns and the Heat to make a deal, there’s three negotiations. One is whether Beal would waive his no-trade clause to go to Miami.”
In 2023, after he became a Phoenix Sun, Beal admitted that Miami was his “initial favorite” destination. So, history suggests that the 31-year-old probably still views South Beach as an attractive spot. While Pat Riley reciprocated the interest, he was not a fan of the three-time All-Star’s contract.
Windhorst addressed this as his next point of concern, “The second negotiation is with Beal to retain the no-trade clause.”
If Riley was to execute a trade for the Suns guard, he would certainly prefer a situation where his $50.2 million contract didn’t come with a no-trade clause. After all, this is the same man who let his franchise’s greatest player, Dwyane Wade, walk away over a few million. How Riley sees Miami’s future post-Butler will be the most important factor in whether or not the Heat trade for Beal.
“If the Heat were picking who to pay $110 million for the next couple years, next two years, I think they would just extend Jimmy,” Windhorst added. Touching on these three negotiations as a pre-requisite to Beal landing in Miami, the 46-year-old explained why the trade is altogether unlikely.
“Of those three negotiations, two of them, I think, are no-go’s. I don’t think Beal is waiving that no-trade [clause], you know, permanently…And I don’t think Heat are taking Bradley Beal.”
It’s an unfortunate scenario for Butler. Many believe that the 35-year-old was expressing his interest in the Phoenix franchise by coloring his hair orange one day after Shams Charania linked him to them. Of course, he wouldn’t agree, but it’s still clear that Jimmy does view the Suns as an attractive landing spot.
Undoubtedly, he would bring some much needed intensity to Mike Budenholzer’s lineup and thrive as a facilitator in Arizona. But it’s a tricky trade to pull off because of Phoenix’s financial restrictions.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Suns boasted the league’s most expensive payroll. Their $217 million payroll puts them well above the second apron, which is set at $188.9 million this year. This also has implications on Phoenix’s ability to acquire Butler.
As a second-apron team, the Suns can’t aggregate contracts in a trade. The only way for them to own Butler’s $48 million contract is by trading a player that matches that value. And there are only three players on their roster that make that much money: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Four teams have crossed the second apron this season, but as the trade deadline looms closer, we will see the first-hand implications of the NBA’s newest financial rule.
