The Jimmy Butler-Miami Heat feud has taken over NBA discourse in the last week, and that will probably remain the case until the situation is resolved with a trade. Kendrick Perkins, adding to the furor, spoke about Butler’s situation on Thursday on the Road Trippin’ podcast. He claimed his sources revealed the Phoenix Suns are ready to make a move for the six-time All-Star at the behest of Kevin Durant, and they have a two-year, $121 million extension waiting for him if they can close the deal.
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Perkins: “It’s about relationships, and the relationship is Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant … yes, [the Suns] want him, you know why? Because Kevin Durant wants Jimmy Butler. And if he does get Jimmy Butler, which I believe he will, they’re both gonna sign contract extensions. KD is gonna sign as well.”
Perkins has had a tumultuous relationship with Durant, his former OKC Thunder teammate, at least publicly, as the two have gotten into a few Twitter battles and back-and-forths through the media in recent years. There’s no denying, though, that Big Perk has a level of insight into Durant that few people in the NBA media can match.
Perkins went on to say that he didn’t know how this trade and subsequent contract extensions would affect Devin Booker’s future in Phoenix, but he did say that this feud has proven that it’s time for Pat Riley to retire after a great career.
Richard Jefferson took exception to that, pointing out that Butler has ended on bad terms with every team he’s ever been on, and the Heat have overachieved by reaching the Finals twice in the last five seasons.
Could Jimmy Butler really be headed to Phoenix?
Butler and the Heat have been locked in a staring contest all season but things escalated recently when the star forward said, after a recent loss, that he probably couldn’t find his joy again by continuing to play in Miami. That forced Riley to switch his earlier stance that Butler would not be traded, and now it seems to be only a matter of time until the disgruntled star finds a new home.
The Suns have struggled mightily after a hot start, so they make sense as a team that could be looking to make a splash. The one holdup could be Bradley Beal, who would ostensibly be part of any trade involving Butler. Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract, and he still has this year, next year, and a player option on his deal. Cumulatively, those three years pay him over $160 million, which could force the Heat and Suns to bring in a third team to make a deal work.
Beal played his college ball at Florida, so a trade to Miami would be a homecoming of sorts, plus a fresh start for him after he was recently moved to the bench as Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer has tried to shake things up. As of yesterday though, Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN that they hadn’t yet discussed the possibility of him waiving his no-trade clause.
Butler is in the middle of serving a seven-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if this deal came together quickly, as long as Beal agreed to waive his no-trade, of course.
