The Jimmy Butler saga has new drama to unfold. Well, kind of. The Phoenix Suns just made a trade with the Utah Jazz, flipping their 2031 first-round pick for three firsts. Now, Miami Heat fans should be on red alert because this could be the start of the end of Butler’s time in South Beach.
In order for the Suns to trade for Butler, they need to send out Bradley Beal’s contract. And the Heat have already made it fairly clear that they have no interest in bringing him on board. That means the Suns would likely have to attach draft capital to Beal’s contract to send him to a third team on top of the picks they would send to Miami in a Butler deal. That’s where their new draft cabinet comes into play.
But that begs the question, what teams could be pulled in to finish the blockbuster? Here are three ideas that immediately jump to mind.
Detroit Pistons
This may be the simplest and most obvious of the bunch. Beal and his no-trade clause would have to approve a move to the Detroit Pistons (as would be the case with any of these deals), but they have the cap space to make a transaction simple from a financial standpoint.
Detroit could absorb Beal’s contract and send out the likes of Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and/or Isaiah Stewart, depending on who they are most inclined to part ways with.
Getting some extra draft capital (which the Suns now have) could be worthwhile, and despite his massive contract, Beal could actually impact winning for the Pistons alongside Cade Cunningham.
Chicago Bulls
What a mess the Chicago Bulls have become. This trade would only work in one specific scenario—the Heat are okay with adding Zach LaVine to their books.
A two-man lineup of Tyler Herro and LaVine doesn’t sound ideal from a defensive perspective, but he’s having an incredible offensive season. And if the Heat want to maintain a winning mindset in the post-Butler era, LaVine wouldn’t be the worst option.
Meanwhile, the Bulls would take on Beal’s whale of a contract and get some draft capital back in return.
Portland Trail Blazers
It would likely be tough for the Suns to convince Beal to waive his no-trade clause to join the Portland Trail Blazers (or the Bulls, for that matter), but other than that, this trade could make some sense for all parties involved.
Portland could get to a financially-legal trade by simply sending Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle to Miami, and they would get at least one first in return. The Heat would get to stay competitive with Grant next to Adebayo in the frontcourt (and perhaps they could sway the Blazers to give them Robert Williams instead of Thybulle).
That said, the Blazers and Heat would have to bury the hatchet on the whole Damian Lillard drama from two summers ago… Time heals all wounds, perhaps?