The Phoenix Suns seem to be at the end of their months-long pursuit of Jimmy Butler. The franchise might be forced to consider alternative upgrades after failing to find an acceptable home for Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause.
One of those paths might just be looking at Kevin Durant as a trade piece, according to Sam Amick, David Aldridge, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
“A league source close to Beal reiterated on Tuesday that there are currently no talks about him waiving the clause and that he expects to remain in Phoenix through the deadline. Enter Kevin Durant, who could provide an alternate pathway to landing Butler.”
This is a bizarre pivot. Jimmy Butler would not make the Suns contenders if he’s joining a team led by Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The appeal behind Jimmy is to be the ideal third star behind Booker and Durant instead of Booker’s likely co-star. Trading Durant could give the Suns a much bigger trade package which likely lands them more players and future assets, but it’s a completely backward move.
Durant is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists this season. He is the only All-Star on the Phoenix Suns this season and is a frontrunner for an All-NBA selection in his 18th season at age 36.
He might be old but he’s been their best player this season and is the player the Suns traded a wonderful supporting cast and future assets for just two seasons ago.
Former ESPN analyst Zach Lowe, who’s currently on a sabbatical and not working with any publication for the 2024-25 season, decided to warn everyone that something major is happening with Durant behind the scenes.
“Lots of eyes and ears around the league on the Kevin Durant situation right now.”
Trading Durant is equivalent to declaring the Mat Ishbia era a flop already, as it would see the team regress into building a depth-focused complementary core to support Booker instead of the multi-star model they’ve used since Ishbia took over.
Beal is averaging 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this season. While he’s been solid off the bench, he just isn’t even worth half his Supermax contract right now based on production.
The Suns handicapped themselves when they acquired Beal and are now stuck with him, with the guard reportedly not wanting to uproot his family again.
“The unrelenting word continues to be that Beal has no desire to bless a trade pretty much anywhere and prefers to remain in Phoenix, where his family has been settling after finally leaving the nation’s capital.”
He might have been willing to uproot it if he was being sent to the Heat for Butler given Miami has previously been a destination he’s wanted to play for, but the Heat have made it clear they do not want Beal on their roster.
There’s no way Beal accepts being salary dumped to a franchise like the Bulls or the Hornets, so he’ll stay in Phoenix until some good team comes for him.
This is bad news for Jimmy Butler, whose position on a trade is almost incoherent at this point. Hopefully, he still finds an acceptable situation before February 6 so he can return to the court.
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