Suns Rumors: Butler, Nurkic, Durant, Beal

There was an “undeniable mood” in Miami on Tuesday that Sun‘ Draft-pick trade with Utah moved Phoenix one step closer to potential acquisition Jimmy Butleraccording to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), which says a source close to the process believes there is a “real path” to a deal that sends Heat star to the Sun.

(RELATED: Likelihood of Suns Acquiring Jimmy Butler Increases?)

Still, sources familiar with the team’s thinking tell Stein and Fischer that the Suns made their deal with the Jazz — who sent Phoenix’s 2031 first-round pick in exchange for three less valuable first-rounders — without a specific follow-up move. up.

As Stein and Fischer write, while that trade puts the Suns in a better position to play for Butler, it also led to plenty of chatter around the league about the club seeking more general flexibility. For example, one of these first-round draft picks could be attached Jusuf Nurkic to move his contract and get some value back.

One executive speculated that the Suns could keep the first-round pick they acquired from Utah in 2025 (likely Cleveland’s pick at No. 30) and use it in June to trade back in the draft and acquire more future assets, just as they did on draft night in 2024, when they moved down six spots from No. 22 to no. 28 and added three future second-rounders in the process.

For what it’s worth, John Hollinger of The Athletic expresses skepticism that the Suns don’t already have a plan in mind for a particular trade, arguing that you don’t do something like that and then say, “Well, maybe let’s see what we can do?” The Suns already know the answer to that question, according to Hollinger, who says Phoenix almost certainly made the move to address a specific need conveyed by a potential trade partner.

Here’s more on the Suns:

• Within his story analyzing the Suns/Jazz tradeHollinger praises Phoenix’s front office for its creativity in continuing to find new ways to add draft assets using its limited tradeable picks. However, he likens Tuesday’s deal to trading a dollar for three quarters and notes that the Suns likely won’t have more opportunities to continue digging into draft capital — as they expect to be well into second-court territory as well next season, their 2032 first round will be frozen, not eligible to be included in a trade.
• The Heat have spoken with several teams about Butler, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link), but the Suns remain at the top of the 35-year-old’s list of preferred destinations and are expected to be “aggressive” in seeking roster upgrades between now and the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Charania adds.
• Kevin Durant rejected the idea that he might run out of gas in the second half of the season, tells Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, “I’m not an ordinary 36-year-old. … How many people play at this level at my age? So you can’t compare me to someone who’s burned out. It could happen, but does it look like that right now?” Durant also said he’s not frustrated by the restrictions the Suns face under the current collective bargaining agreement: “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things just happen in this league. You know, regardless of the rules and the CBA put in place, these guys get paid a lot of money to figure out ways and stuff. So it’s not frustrating. I mean, we just added Nick (Richards)which is a good pickup.”
• In the same Yahoo Sports story, Goodwill confirmed that there have been whispers Bucks and Birds of prey potentially getting involved in a multi-team deal that sends Butler to the Suns and added Wizards to the list of clubs rumored to be possible facilitators in that scenario.
• Bradley Bealstill listed as questionable to play Wednesday against Brooklyn because of a sprained left ankle, referred to the game as “a must-win for us,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.