Inside The Suns

Suns’ Latest Trade Suggests More Moves to Come

Jimmy Butler getting traded to the Suns is looking more and more likely.
Brendan Mau|
Jan 21, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) shoots the basketball against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Jan 21, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) shoots the basketball against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns could be cooking up something big on the trade market with their most recent trade and rumors continuing to swirl around a potential Jimmy Butler deal. 

Yesterday, the Suns dealt away their only tradeable future first-round pick in 2031 to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the least favorable first in 2025 of Cleveland and Minnesota; the least favorable first of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah in 2027; and the least favorable first of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah in 2029.

The Jazz originally acquired these draft picks in the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trades.

Phoenix not only gets three first-round picks back, but also now has the ability to trade first-round picks from 2025-2030, as long as it spaces them out by following The Stepien Rule, which means a team cannot completely trade away picks in consecutive years.

These are now the six first-round draft picks the Suns own until 2030 as a result of yesterday's trade, the Bradley Beal trade and several other smaller trades:

  • 2025: Least favorable of Cleveland and Minnesota
  • 2026: Least favorable of Phoenix, Washington, Orlando and Memphis
  • 2027: Least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah
  • 2028: Least favorable of Phoenix, Brooklyn, New York and Washington
  • 2029: Least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah
  • 2030: Least favorable of Phoenix, Washington and Memphis

Phoenix also has one tradeable second-round pick from last week's Nick Richards trade: Denver's second rounder in 2025.

The Bigger Picture of the Utah Trade

The trade of the picks with Utah was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, who noted:

“The trade triples the Suns' allotted first-round draft capital as the franchise pursues upgrades to its roster -- such as Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. Butler, who requested a trade from the Heat earlier this month, has the Suns among his preferred trade destinations, sources said.”

NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported on X:

“Among the presumed motivations for Phoenix trading its 2031 first-round pick without protections to Utah for three likely late first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029: Increasing the Suns' chances of assembling a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade."

The framework of the potential deal is looking more clear of what it might be: a complicated four- or five-team trade.

According to Sun Sentinel Miami Heat insider Ira Winderman, the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors are two teams to keep an eye on. In this case, Bradley Beal would get sent to Milwaukee from Phoenix, who would likely use one or two of these newly-acquired picks to orchestrate the deal.

The Bucks need to trade away Pat Connaughton to get under the second-tax apron, which would allow them to aggregate salary in a hypothetical trade. The Suns are over the second apron, so they can't aggregate salaries or take back more money than they send out.

These first-round picks from the Jazz could also help the Suns facilitate a Jusuf Nurkic trade, as there have been several reports that Phoenix is having a hard time finding a deal for the recently-benched big man, who is making $18.125 million this season and has an additional year remaining on his contract for $19.375 million next year.

The Suns are currently sitting at 21-21 on the year, not where a team wants to be with championship expectations, and with an aggressive owner like Mat Ishbia, it seems like a matter of when not if a big trade is made before the Feb. 6 deadline.

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Brendan Mau
BRENDAN MAU

Brendan Mau is a staff writer for Suns on SI. Brendan has been a credentialed media member covering the Suns since 2023 and holds a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism from Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Follow Brendan on X @Brendan_Mau for more news, updates, analysis and more!

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