Phoenix is a destination that interests Jimmy Butler as trade rumors continue to swirl around the Heat star, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). However, Charania’s report that the Suns could get involved in trade talks cites information from Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, who immediately and vehemently denied any involvement.
“Alright listen. I gave you a pass yesterday because I was busy but if you don’t stop putting my name on your complete and utter made up b——- because you know you normally arent worth my time to acknowledge,” Lee responded. “I don’t know what I’m going to do because I’m a middle aged dad but just know it would indicate severe dislike. World… all this is fabricated. I have never and honestly it wouldn’t help me or the position I represent to do anything that’s been reported by said ‘journalist.’ Shams this is your opportunity to say my bad “I let chat GPT write my tweets and it went old school Peter Vescey..” (Shams Peter was a writer in the 90’s) be a trend setter.. invent the new I was hacked. Carry on all. Thank you.”
It’s worth noting that Lee and Charania have clashed before, including in April when Charania reported that Butler was “feared to have an MCL injury in his knee” following a collision with Sixers wing Kelly Oubre in a play-in game. Lee denied the report, as did the team’s beat writers, but Butler missed the first-round series against Boston with a sprained MCL. Lee also disputed Charania’s 2021 claim that there were “very, very testy moments behind the scenes” between Butler and the coaching staff.
If there’s substance behind Charania’s latest report, it’s significant because any team dealing for Butler would like some assurance that he’ll consider re-signing. He holds a $52.4MM player option for next season and has indicated that he plans to turn that down and test free agency.
Butler is making $48.8MM this season, so it would be difficult to get him to a team like Phoenix, which is operating under second apron restrictions and isn’t permitted to combine salaries in any trade. ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (Twitter link) that Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal combine for 68% of the Suns’ salary, and Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract.
A source tells Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link) that the Suns aren’t pursuing a trade for Butler, regardless of any interest he might have. The source states that management has faith in its current roster, pointing out that the team is 11-2 when Durant, Booker and Beal are all healthy.
Bourguet also notes that because Miami and Phoenix are both apron teams, neither can take back more salary than it sends out. The only loophole would be for Miami to attach a veteran’s minimum deal along with Butler’s contract because the NBA doesn’t count those as aggregated salaries (Twitter link).
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