Many suspect the Phoenix Suns acquired more first-round picks to use in a Jimmy Butler trade soon. However, a new report claims they might be used in a different trade before the Feb. 6 deadline.
This has not been the season anyone expected inside the Suns organization. In the offseason, they heaped all their failure from last season on head coach Frank Vogel and that’s why they fired him in May. When they replaced him with former Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, the expectation was this team would finally evolve into a title contender.
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However, the new head coach still has been unable to get the most out of a roster that features superstars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Heading into their game on Wednesday, the team owns a 21-21 record and is barely holding on to the final playoff spot. It’s why they have been linked to various NBA trade rumors in recent weeks.
The most prominent has been the organization trying to swing a blockbuster deal for disgruntled Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. However, the belief around the NBA is that the Suns don’t have the assets to entice Miami into a swap. Well, that might have changed this week.
On Tuesday, the team swung a surprise trade with the Utah Jazz that sent their 2031 first-round pick to Salt Lake City and brought back lower-value first rounders in 2025, 2027, and 2029. Many believe those picks will now be used in a trade package for Jimmy Butler. However, NBA insider Marc Stein speculated Wednesday that may not be the case.
- Jimmy Butler stats (2024-25): 17.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 36% 3PT
Phoenix Suns to use added first-round pick in Jusuf Nurkić trade soon?
“The Suns know they likely need draft capital to attach to Jusuf Nurkić to create a trade market for the out-of-favor veteran center,” Stein wrote in a new Substack post. “The Suns can’t take any player back who makes more than Nurkic’s $18.1 million salary in a trade. But might actually be able to find one now if they have a first-rounder to attach.”
Bradley Beal would need to be added to it to any Jimmy Butler trade. Be it to Miami or another team involved. However, Stein claims that “as of Tuesday night, [the Suns] had still not presented any trade scenarios for Bradley Beal to consider and tell them if he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause.”
- Jusuf Nurkic stats (2024-25): 23.7 MPG, 8.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG
Obviously, it makes more sense to use all the picks for a trade to land the future Hall-of-Famer. However, the Phoenix Suns have to move money off their payroll. Especially if they swing a trade for Butler and give him a new long-term pact. It will be interesting to see how things play out over the next two weeks.
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