A 3-Team Bradley Beal-Jimmy Butler Trade That Actually Makes Sense

A 3-Team Bradley Beal-Jimmy Butler Trade That Actually Makes Sense0 of 4

Bradley BealEmilee Chinn/Getty Images

Shortly after Miami Heat president Pat Riley said, “We will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler,” in a statement, the organization suspended him for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team” and said it would listen to trade offers.

In the meantime, the Phoenix Suns spiraled far enough down the standings (and below .500) to necessitate a fairly radical lineup change. This week, they moved Bradley Beal, who’s making $50.2 million this season, to the bench.

Add Butler’s reported desire to wind up on the Suns and Beal’s apparent willingness to waive his no-trade clause for a move to the Heat, Los Angeles Lakers or Denver Nuggets, and it’s easy to start thinking about the possibility of a swap.

The thing is, Beal just makes no sense in Miami. The Heat should not be looking to take on a worse (and longer-term) contract in a Butler trade. And Beal plays the same position as Tyler Herro. He and Bam Adebayo are the obvious building blocks for a post-Butler future, and Beal would take touches and opportunities away from both.

That means getting Butler to Phoenix might require a third team to get involved and for Beal to soften his stance on the no-trade clause.

Neither Denver nor L.A. should be dying to sign up for his contract either. The Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. is younger, bigger and outplaying Beal this season. The Lakers’ Austin Reaves checks two of those three boxes.

So, perhaps Miami and Phoenix can interest Beal in another Florida team, one that needed a little offensive juice even before Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner went down for injuries.

At 31, Beal presumably wants to play for a contender, in a fun market or both (hence, L.A., Miami and Denver being his initial list). Well, at the very least, playing for the Orlando Magic gives him a chance to be on a contender (or near-contender) without having to deal with a Rocky Mountain winter.

The Deal1 of 4

Jimmy Butler and Bradley BealIssac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

Before we dive into why each of the involved teams should be willing to entertain this idea, as always, we’ll take a look at the entire deal in one frame.

Suns Receive: Jimmy Butler and a top-45-protected 2029 second-round pick from Orlando

Suns Lose: Bradley Beal, a 2026 second-round pick (via Denver) and a 2031 first-round pick swap

Heat Receive: Jonathan Isaac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a 2026 second-round pick from Phoenix (via Denver) and a 2031 first-round pick swap from Phoenix

Heat Lose: Jimmy Butler and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Magic Receive: Bradley Beal and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Magic Lose: Jonathan Isaac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and a top-45-protected 2029 second-round pick

Typically, at this point, I’d say something along the lines of “feel free to quibble over the picks or smaller contracts involved,” but that doesn’t really apply here. Phoenix and Miami are both pretty strapped for draft capital. And because the Suns are over the second apron, they can’t aggregate outgoing contracts.

If a Butler-Beal trade is going to get done, beyond Beal needing to waive his no-trade clause, the Suns and Heat will have to swallow some of their pride regarding these marquee players’ respective values.

Suns Push in the Last of Their Chips (for Real, This Time)2 of 4

Devin Booker and Kevin DurantDavid Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Suns Receive: Jimmy Butler and a top-45-protected 2029 second-round pick from Orlando

Suns Lose: Bradley Beal, a 2026 second-round pick (via Denver) and a 2031 first-round pick swap

The Phoenix Suns were in the NBA Finals in 2021, and Devin Booker was the only member of that team who’s still on the roster.

In the few years since, Phoenix unloaded a former No. 1 overall pick (Deandre Ayton), a future Hall of Fame point guard (Chris Paul), two of the league’s better three-and-D forwards (Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson) and most of their draft assets.

They brought in two aging stars in Kevin Durant and Beal and a host of role players who clearly haven’t been good enough to keep this team in the title picture.

As of this writing, Phoenix is below .500 and outside the play-in picture in the West.

So, although Butler would be another past-his-prime addition, it’s not surprising that Phoenix might want to take advantage of the chaos in Miami and acquire Butler.

He’s a better defender than Beal. He’s also a better on-ball creator and distributor. On this roster, he’d probably function as much like a point guard as a wing. His ability to slash and pull defenses to the paint could open up a little more space outside for Booker and Durant’s jump shots.

And if his addition turned out to be a disaster, Butler’s contract is shorter than Beal’s. In fact, if he were to decline his player option, Butler could be a free agent this summer.

With the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Victor Wembanyama, the ongoing presence of Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić and the resurgence of the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix should be feeling desperate right now.

And in this case, desperation could lead to some meaningful improvement.

Heat Move on from the Butler Era and into the Herro and Bam Era3 of 4

Jaime Jaquez Jr.Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Heat Receive: Jonathan Isaac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a 2026 second-round pick from Phoenix (via Denver) and a 2031 first-round pick swap from Phoenix

Heat Lose: Jimmy Butler and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Given his age (36 in September), contract (which could run through 2025-26, when he has a player option) and the way he’s left multiple previous stops (the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and now Heat), it’s hard to imagine Miami getting much of a haul in a Butler deal.

Some team ponying up multiple first-round picks and/or young prospects just feels like a pipe dream.

But this deal gives the Heat a hint of draft equity (that 2031 pick swap could actually be pretty valuable) and a pair of defensive aces to make life easier for Herro and Bam.

Jonathan Isaac, though he’s long struggled with availability, is one of the league’s most dynamic forwards on the less glamorous end of the floor. He can stay in front of plenty of wings and forwards outside while also being able to protect the rim.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is one of the NBA’s better perimeter defenders, particularly when it comes to his ability to navigate ball screens.

Lineups with those two and Bam could be a nightmare to score on.

And though it might be tough to give up on Jaime Jaquez Jr. already, he hasn’t been quite as good as he was as a rookie. His game isn’t quite as complementary as KCP’s toward a young ball-handler like Herro, either.

This deal gets Miami out of the growing quagmire that is the Butler-Heat relationship while potentially strengthening the defense and keeping the team in the playoff hunt for Herro and Adebayo.

Magic Get an Offensive Boost4 of 4

Cory Joseph, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Goga BitadzeFernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images

Magic Receive: Bradley Beal and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Magic Lose: Jonathan Isaac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and a top-45-protected 2029 second-round pick

Magic fans probably don’t want to upset the apple cart by acquiring one of the league’s worst contracts, but they might also be the one team that could justify it.

The sample size isn’t huge (because of how quickly Paolo got hurt), but the Magic’s points per 100 possessions ranked in the 29th percentile when Banchero, Wagner and KCP were all on the floor this season.

They were (and are) winning games on the defensive end of the floor. And adding a scorer who’s averaged over 20 points per game over the last four seasons and hit 37.6 percent of his career three-point attempts would help them win a few more contests on the other end.

Beal has already had some time adjusting to life as a third option, too. So, when Banchero and Wagner are both back in action, it shouldn’t be too difficult to slide him into a lower-usage role.

Finally, lack of defense has long been an issue with Beal. And there may not be another roster better equipped to cover for him on that end.

This deal doesn’t cost the Magic any of its most important core players (Banchero, Wagner and Jalen Suggs), and they’re exactly the guards and wings who can protect Beal as a perimeter defender.