Why It's Not Jimmy Butler-Or-Bust for Suns Trade Options

PHOENIX -- Life has been up-and-down for the Phoenix Suns for the better part of 14 months to this point - their most recent performance didn't do much to change that.

While the Suns did secure a victory over the Washington Wizards to move to 20-20 - while in turn getting closer to working their way up the standings - the victory was not a convincing one behind a very unfocused fourth quarter output.

With that, many concerns that continue to plague the Suns are still around - and much of the talk of the town pertains to what the front office can do to find quick fixes for a talented, yet flawed roster.

Much of the chatter these days is around whether or not Phoenix should go all-in when it comes to working towards acquiring Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat.

While Butler feels like a nearly seamless schematic fit on paper in many ways, it feels like the three-star arrangement isn't likely to be a sustainable model under the banner of the freshly minted CBA - unless one of the stars is on a rookie-scale contract.

Top contenders in the current landscape - think the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Oklahoma City Thunder (even the Boston Celtics) - and all of those squads are built in a similar fashion to one another.

Cleveland and OKC in particular are all-in on one max player surrounded by several cost-controlled role players and rising stars. That is the way to build a winner under the second apron.

While Phoenix would get under the second apron with a Butler trade, it would almost certainly cost the only tradable first-round pick (2031) the franchise has in the next several years. It also means the franchise will commit to paying another player well into his 30's top dollar. That is a risk in and of itself - even if Butler continues to play at an All-NBA level.

If Phoenix were to convince a franchise such as the Chicago Bulls to take on Bradley Beal, it is within the realm of possibilities that Phoenix could get back a package of role players such as Lonzo Ball and former Sun Torrey Craig.

While this doesn't do enough to push the Suns towards contention this season, it makes the avenues to contend in future ones more clear. Ball would bring much needed size/defense to the guard spot, while Craig is a phenomenal locker room presence and brings enough 3&D chops to the table to make that a worthwile addition.

The Suns can look to the Brooklyn Nets pre-Kyrie Irving/Kevin Durant trade as a model of how to build a title contender around a pair of score-first megastars.

While that situation ended up coming to an ugly conclusion, it wasn't due to team performance. The Nets spent a large portion of the 2022-23 season at or near the top of the Eastern Conference standings after moving James Harden for Ben Simmons and other assets.

They were able to regain a level of flexibility and turned it into supreme role players such as current Sun Royce O'Neale. They made some sneaky quality free-agent signings.

The Suns could look towards that blueprint and see a light at the end of the tunnel. Increased flexibility to make various roster moves. A trio of cost-controlled young studs in Nick Richards, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro. More quality role players that fit Durant and Booker on top of what is already there.

Things could look bleak to some at the moment depending on point of view, but Phoenix could very well flip the script by making a move based around Beal for role players.

The results of a potential deal would be unlikely to show right away, but it could eventually paint a brighter future for the Valley of the sun.