Jusuf Nurkic

Southeast Notes: Williams, Nurkic, Baugh, Black, Da Silva, Sarr

February 15th, 2025 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

It’s been a week since the trade sending Mark Williams to the Lakers was rescinded, and he still hasn’t rejoined the Hornets, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte played three road games since L.A. decided to void the deal due to the results of Williams’ physical, and Boone believes Hornets officials are giving him time to adjust to the shock of returning to his old team.

Boone points out that if Williams is required to resume playing immediately after the All-Star Break, his first game would be against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. That contest, originally scheduled for last month, was postponed due to the wildfires and rescheduled for Wednesday.

Boone notes that president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson hasn’t spoken to the media about the Lakers’ decision to call off the deal, and the organization has been silent except for a brief statement it released after the news broke last Saturday. The Hornets have contacted the league office to explore their options, but a source tells Boone that they’re preparing for Williams’ return.

With Williams absent, center Jusuf Nurkic, who was acquired from Phoenix last week, made his Hornets debut in Wednesday’s loss at Orlando. He had nine points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes and made a positive impression on coach Charles Lee.

“I just saw a guy that obviously understands the game at a really high level,” Lee said. “His size, his physicality adds a different element to our group. Defensively, I thought he was good in helping the paint with his communication. And offensively, even showed me a little bit more. “Able to rebound and push the break and I knew he was kind of a good passer but to see him handle it in the open court and make some good decisions. … Another guy you can throw it down to in the paint when you need a bucket or he gets fouled. It was really nice to have him out there.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The two-way contract that Damion Baugh signed with the Hornets this week will also cover next season, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The 24-year-old shooting guard had a strong NBA debut Wednesday with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley believes Anthony Black and Tristan Da Silva will benefit from their first trip to All-Star Weekend, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Both players took part in the Rising Stars event Friday night. “It does something when you go to the All-Star game,” Mosley said. “You get to see the league in a different light. You get to be around your peers that you know are at a certain level, and then it instills a little bit of confidence knowing that you belong in that class.
Wizards rookie center Alex Sarr, another Rising Stars participant, talked to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post about not getting dragged down by difficult moments as he adjusts to the NBA. “I just try to go to the next play because there’s so many plays,” Sarr said. “Who cares you lost the ball? Who cares you missed the shot? Move on and just do something else.”

Eastern Notes: Embiid, George, Nurkic, Sims

February 12th, 2025 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on reporting over the weekend that suggested Joel Embiid might require another surgery to address a nagging left knee injury, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a TV appearance on Get Up (YouTube link) that there’s not necessarily a consensus among the experts the Sixers center has consulted about the best way to put that knee issue behind him.

“I know that people would like this to be a cut-and-dry issue — you either need knee surgery or you don’t,” Windhorst said. “That’s not necessarily clear here. He has seen a number of specialists. There isn’t a clear path on how to resolve this issue.

“He’s still playing, obviously. They’ve got him playing. If they thought he needed knee surgery, trust me, the Sixers would have dealt with it. He’s playing right now, and he signed this $193MM contract extension. He’s under contract now for five years for $300MM. They have to get this right. And right now, they have no option. They have to figure this out.”

As Windhorst notes, Embiid is now locked up through at least the 2027/28 season, with a player option for ’28/29 worth a projected $69MM. Given that huge financial commitment the Sixers made to the former MVP, they have to do all they can to get him back to full health, since it makes little sense to try to trade him while value is at a low.

“He’s not tradable right now. That contract makes his value… it’s not realistic,” Windhorst said. “And just on Friday, Daryl Morey, their team president, coming out of the trade deadline still reaffirms, ‘We think he’s a top-five player. We don’t regret signing Paul George.’

“The future going forward is around Joel Embiid, so he’s doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on it, and he really has to because that contract makes it impossible. They have to figure out a way to get him right. Trust me, they’re trying. They are seeking all kinds of alternatives trying to make it happen.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Speaking of George, the Sixers forward admitted after Tuesday’s loss to Toronto that adjusting to playing alongside Embiid this season has “definitely been challenging,” per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “But I’m here to learn and figure it out,” George said. “He’s an unbelievable talent. He makes the game easy with just his presence, his attention that he draws. But it’s been a challenge.” Sixers lineups that feature both George and Embiid have a -4.2 net rating so far this season.
Jusuf Nurkic will be available on Wednesday to make his Hornets debut vs. Orlando, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran center will be on a minutes restriction. Nurkic, traded from Phoenix to Charlotte last week, hasn’t played since January 7. With Mark Williams back on the roster following the voided trade with the Lakers, Nurkic likely won’t have as significant a role, but Williams won’t be active on Wednesday, having been listed on the injury report as “not with team.”
Speaking about the trade-deadline addition of Jericho Sims, Bucks general manager Jon Horst referred to the center as a “fourth big,” but expressed enthusiasm about Sims’ athleticism, offensive rebounding, and ability to make an impact in transition, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “It may or may not be an every night role, but it’s kind of based on matchups, it’s based on need,” Horst said of Sims’ role. “If guys get injured or guys are out, he’s a guy that can step in, and you feel confident with him playing.”

More On Kevin Durant: Curry Convo, Warriors/Heat Trade Talks

February 7th, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors and Suns began “secretly” talking about the possibility of a Kevin Durant trade early last week, according to Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who say that the star forward and his longtime manager and agent Rich Kleiman didn’t learn about those discussions until the two teams played one another last Friday.

By Saturday, the two teams were far enough along in negotiations that Durant and Stephen Curry touched base to talk about the idea. Shelburne and Windhorst hear from sources that Durant told Curry a reunion with the Warriors “didn’t feel right” and that this “wasn’t the time” for them to team up again.

While the Warriors were discouraged by Durant’s stance, they didn’t give up on making a deal at that point, hoping that Durant might change his tune once he learned how far down the road Phoenix had gotten in those discussions without informing him, per ESPN.

The Suns have internally conceded that it was a mistake not to loop Durant into the process earlier, Shelburne and Windhorst say. The former MVP has been described as “blindsided” by being so heavily involved in trade rumors this week after having expressed a desire to stay in Phoenix.

“We should’ve gone through (Kleiman),” a team source told ESPN.

As Shams Charania reported earlier today, the Warriors, Suns, and Heat discussed a potential multi-team trade that would’ve sent both Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga to Phoenix, with Durant going to Golden State. Shelburne and Windhorst provide more details on those conversations, reporting that the Wizards were involved as well, as we speculated on Wednesday.

The four teams were negotiating a trade that would have looked like this, according to ESPN:

Durant to Golden State.
Butler, Kuminga, Jonas Valanciunas, two first-round picks (from the Warriors), two second-round picks (one each from Miami and Golden State), and pick swaps to Phoenix.
Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson, and the Cavaliers’ 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix) to Miami.

There are some missing details there — among them, Jusuf Nurkic would’ve been involved and would’ve gone to the Wizards, who presumably would’ve sought at least a first-rounder from the Suns as a sweetener to take on that contract.

While it sounds like there was some momentum in those negotiations, the Heat ultimately weren’t sold on the deal. They sought the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick rather than Cleveland’s, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that Golden State also had some reservations about the Suns’ steep asking price for Durant.

With Durant standing firm on his stance that he had no desire to go to Golden State, the talks fell apart.

After those discussions ended, there was a window for the Heat to potentially acquire Durant in a trade that would send Butler to Phoenix. Durant would have been more open to playing in Miami than Golden State, sources tell ESPN, and the Suns and Heat traded “visions” of what a deal might look like, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

However, the Suns were seeking a massive haul for Durant that included “a combination of talented young players and draft picks,” Jackson writes. According to both ESPN and the Herald, the Heat considered the price too steep and backed out, pivoting to a Butler deal with the Warriors that cut out Phoenix altogether.

The Suns were “deflated” by the outcome, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that there were several times during the weeks leading up to Thursday’s deadline that Phoenix thought there might be a path to a Butler deal involving Bradley Beal.

However, sources tell ESPN that the Hawks and Wizards were believed to be the only teams considering taking on Beal, and it’s unclear whether he would’ve waived his no-trade clause for either team. The Suns reportedly never got close enough to a deal to approach Beal about it, eventually pivoting to exploring a Durant scenario without first informing the star forward.

As Windhorst noted on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, we’ll find out this coming summer whether those Suns trade talks involving Durant will sour him on the idea of remaining in Phoenix beyond this season.

Suns Trade Jusuf Nurkic To Hornets In Three-Player Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:05 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Hornets.

12:28 pm: The Suns will send Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a second-rounder in 2026, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Phoenix has been searching for a taker for Nurkic, who was removed from the starting lineup in early January and hasn’t played at all since January 7. The recent trade for Nick Richards and the emergence of rookie big man Oso Ighodaro made Nurkic expendable.

The 30-year-old center has one season left on his contract at $19.375MM. He expressed skepticism last month that the Suns would be able to move him, but they found a willing trade partner in Charlotte, which was low on centers after agreeing to send Mark Williams to the Lakers late Wednesday night.

The Hornets and Suns discussed Nurkic before finalizing the Richards deal, but they opted to keep him out of the original trade.

Today’s deal provides future flexibility for Phoenix, as Martin’s $8.68MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed and Micic has a team option worth $8.1MM. The Suns have a roster opening, so they can complete the two-for-one trade without another move.

The 2026 first-rounder will include “least favorable” language. If the Wizards’ pick lands in the top eight, they’ll have the opportunity to swap first-rounders with the Suns. The Magic would subsequently have an opportunity to swap their first-rounder for whichever pick Phoenix holds, with the Grizzlies then given the chance to swap their first-rounder for the pick the Suns are left with. Whichever pick is remaining at the end of that series of swaps is the one headed to Charlotte.

The 2026 second-round pick that Phoenix will receive is the least favorable between the Warriors’ and Nuggets’ second-rounders, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Latest On Kevin Durant

February 5th, 2025 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

As Thursday’s trade deadline approaches, trade rumors involving Suns forward Kevin Durant continue to percolate. Reporting on Monday indicated that the Warriors were eyeing Durant, with a story on Tuesday suggesting that the Mavericks and Rockets may also be in the mix.

There had been no real indication prior to this week that Durant would be available at the trade deadline, but it sounds like the Suns could be wavering on that stance.

Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link), and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) are among the reporters who have suggested in recent days that there’s a rising belief around the NBA that a Durant deal is a possibility.

Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) echoed that sentiment late on Tuesday night, citing sources who say that the Suns have talked to teams besides Golden State about Durant and seem more open to discussing the star forward than they’ve ever been in the past.

Still, Stein and Fischer aren’t sure that Houston and Dallas should be considered serious suitors for Durant at this point. Stein suggests the Rockets still don’t appear particularly motivated to shake up their roster with a major in-season move before assessing how their young core performs in the postseason. The Rockets seem more inclined to use their flexibility below the luxury tax line to participate as a facilitator in multi-team trades, Stein writes.

As for the Mavs, they don’t look realistically positioned to make a move for another maximum-salary player like Durant this week after completing a Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis mega-deal over the weekend. According to Stein and Fischer, there was “no tangible expectation” in Dallas as of Tuesday night that the Mavs would be a major player in any Durant sweepstakes. The Stein Line duo believes the team will focus this season on integrating Davis and then potentially explore another major trade in the summer.

One reason there has been an increase in trade chatter surrounding Durant, sources tell Stein and Fischer, is that it’s believed to be the only way the Suns could realistically acquire Heat forward Jimmy Butler. A package headlined by Bradley Beal has been Phoenix’s preferred route to a Butler deal, but a number of factors – including Beal’s no-trade clause, his unwieldy contract, and the Suns’ lack of sweeteners – have made that path a non-starter.

The sources whom Stein and Fischer spoke to couldn’t offer a great answer when asked why the Suns would want to add Butler while giving up Durant, but that scenario does seem to be in play. Gambadoro (Twitter link) says he talked to one team that believes Durant will end up in Golden State, with Butler headed to Phoenix.

Presumably, if the Suns were to trade Durant in a Butler deal, they’d also be able to extract multiple other assets from the Warriors (or whichever team landed Durant), whereas a Beal-for-Butler trade would require Phoenix to be the team adding several extra assets to get it done. Those additional assets could help the Suns make upgrades elsewhere on the roster.

It’s worth noting that Durant ($51.2MM) doesn’t have a significantly higher cap hit than Butler ($48.8MM) and the Suns are a second-apron team unable to aggregate salaries or take back more than $51.2MM in non-minimum contracts for Durant. That means the Suns’ ability to take on additional contracts beyond Butler’s in that sort of multi-team deal would be limited unless they sent out another player or two.

Along those lines, Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reported on Tuesday (via Twitter) that the Suns and Wizards had momentum on a trade that would involve Jusuf Nurkic and Jonas Valanciunas. Gambadoro (Twitter link) followed up to say that it’s not a done deal and would likely only happen if it’s attached to a bigger trade, adding that Phoenix isn’t really interested in Valanciunas.

This is purely my speculation, but if the Suns were to tie Nurkic to a Durant/Butler trade, bringing in more teams, it’d be a way for them to add more players using Nurkic’s $18.1MM outgoing contract without requiring aggregation.

For instance, Jonathan Kuminga‘s $7.6MM salary and Valanciunas’ $9.9MM salary would both fit within that $18.1MM limit. Valanciunas could even be flipped to Golden State in that scenario, with one of the Warriors’ other outgoing players sent to Phoenix. But again, that’s just a hypothetical for now.

Trade Rumors: Butler, Pelicans, Fox, Spurs, Yabusele, Wolves, Bogdanovic

January 31st, 2025 at 7:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing a Friday report that stated the Pelicans have contacted Miami about Jimmy Butler, John Gambadoro of Arizona 98.7 tweets that New Orleans has “no interest” in trading for the Heat forward.

Butler doesn’t want to go to New Orleans and the Pelicans would be hard-pressed to add him in a swap involving Brandon Ingram without increasing their team salary, which they don’t want to do, Gambadoro notes (via Twitter), adding that he believes the Heat or Butler’s agent are using the Pelicans for leverage.

For what it’s worth, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line – who initially co-reported the Pelicans/Heat discussions along with Marc Stein – said in a Bleacher Report stream on Friday (video link) that while the two teams have talked, he doesn’t think Butler ending up in New Orleans “sounds likely at all.”

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Despite some chatter from local media in San Antonio about the Spurs potentially gaining momentum toward a De’Aaron Fox trade, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link) hears from a source with knowledge of the situation that “all is quiet as of now” and that no deal involving the Kings star appears imminent. If the Spurs do make a deal for Fox, it’s unlikely to include Stephon Castle, according to plugged-in Sacramento reporter Damien Barling of ESPN 1320 (Twitter link), who says indications are that San Antonio won’t be willing to give up the rookie guard.
In another story for The Stein Line (Substack link), Fischer adds the Timberwolves to the list of teams that have inquired on Sixers big man Guerschon Yabusele. Philadelphia has received offers that include multiple second-round picks for Yabusele, according to Fischer.
After Stein reported on Thursday that the Hawks are actively exploring potential Bogdan Bogdanovic trades, Fischer follows up (Substack link) by citing momentum toward a deal, with confidence rising in Atlanta that a deal will get down. However, both Stein and Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link) dispute that a deal with the Suns involving Jusuf Nurkic is among the options currently under consideration.

Scotto’s Latest: Bogdanovic, Hawks, K. Johnson, Ingram, Pistons

January 31st, 2025 at 8:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Rival teams are watching the Hawks ahead of next week’s trade deadline to see which players they’re willing to part with in the wake of a season-ending injury to Jalen Johnson, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. League sources tell Scotto there’s a “growing sense” that Bogdan Bogdanovic could be on the market, echoing a report from Marc Stein earlier this week.

Scotto hears that the Suns, Heat and others could have interest in working out a deal for Bogdanovic. Phoenix is reportedly hoping to combine one of its newly acquired first-round picks with Jusuf Nurkic to acquire either a starter or a “high-level” rotation player, and Scotto’s sources say the team considers Bogdanovic to fit that description. He adds that a deal involving Bogdanovic for Nurkic and a pick has been discussed as part of a “larger potential construct.”

Injuries have limited Bogdanovic to 24 games this season, and he is currently away from the team for personal reasons. At 32, he’s not a good fit with Atlanta’s young core, especially if the Hawks are focused on the future rather than a postseason appearance following Johnson’s injury.

Bogdanovic is having an uncharacteristically bad shooting season, connecting at just 37.1% from the field and 30.1% from three-point range, but Scotto states that several teams believe a change of scenery could help. He’s a career 38% shooter from long distance and is under contract for one more season at $16MM, with a $16MM player option for 2026/27.

Scotto offers a few more trade rumors:

Several teams have reached out to the Hawks about veteran center Clint Capela, sources tell Scotto. However, many of those offers involve players whose contracts extend beyond this season, while Capela’s deal is expiring. Atlanta has also received interest in De’Andre Hunter, Scotto adds.
Keldon Johnson could be part of the package if the Spurs work out a multi-team deal to acquire De’Aaron Fox from the Kings, according to Scotto’s sources. Johnson, who averaged 22 PPG two years ago, is appealing because his $19MM salary declines to $17.5MM in each of the next two seasons. Scotto adds that San Antonio checked on the price of Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram earlier this season, but it was nothing more than “exploratory interest.”
The Pistons are willing to use their $14MM in cap space to help facilitate trades, but they want a first-round pick in return, Scotto notes, adding that several teams looking to unload salaries to escape the luxury tax or the second apron have made calls to Detroit.

Hawks Reportedly Open To Trading Bogdan Bogdanovic

January 30th, 2025 at 12:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks are “actively exploring the trade market” for veteran guard/forward Bogdan Bogdanovic and there are “credible whispers” that he could be dealt prior to the February 6 trade deadline, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).

Bogdanovic, 32, has been hampered by injuries this season, only appearing in 24 of Atlanta’s 47 games. He will also miss Thursday’s contest in Cleveland, as he’s away from the team for personal reasons.

A skilled scorer and play-maker, Bogdanovic has struggled with inefficiency when he has been active in 2024/25 — his 30.1% mark from three-point range would represent a career low by a significant margin. However, he has converted 38.0% of his career attempts from long distance and “still has fans around the league,” Stein writes.

Bogdanovic is in the second season of a four-year, $68MM extension he signed in March 2023. He’s earning $17.26MM in ’24/25, followed by $16.02MM in ’25/26, with a $16.02MM team option for ’26/27.

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reported this morning that the Suns have talked to the Hawks about a potential trade involving Jusuf Nurkic, later suggesting that Bogdanovic could make sense in such a deal given the size of their respective contracts. Nurkic is making $18.13MM this season, plus $19.38MM in ’25/26.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, Phoenix is indeed interested in Bogdanovic and has discussed the Serbian swingman with Atlanta. To make a deal work, the Suns would have to include draft compensation with Nurkic, who is out of the rotation and likely wouldn’t be of much interest to the Hawks.

Bogdanovic, who finished fifth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in ’23/24, helped Serbia win a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris last summer.

Echoing previous reporting, both Stein and Begley state that Hawks center Clint Capela is known to be on the trade block as well. The veteran big man will also miss Thursday’s game due to back spasms, per the NBA’s official injury report.

Scotto’s Latest: Clippers, Boucher, Brown, Nurkic

January 28th, 2025 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers are currently operating about $2.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and would like to duck below that line at the trade deadline, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

That’s not surprising, given that the Clippers were a taxpayer in each of the previous four seasons and are now subject to repeater taxpayer penalties. Getting out of tax territory wouldn’t just save them from paying repeater rates in 2024/25 — it would also be the first step toward resetting the repeater clock for future seasons.

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker and guard Bones Hyland are the team’s two most obvious trade chips in any cost-cutting deal. Both players are on expiring contracts, with Tucker – who has been away from the team – earning $11.5MM, while Hyland – who has had a very limited role – making $4.2MM. Scotto classifies both players as “available,” which feels like an understatement. i don’t expect either player could be moved without a sweetener.

According to Scotto, a best-case scenario for the Clippers would be to duck the tax while also adding a backup big man to fortify their depth chart. If they’re able to create an open spot on their 15-man roster and have enough room below the tax, second-year forward Jordan Miller remains a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, as Scotto previously reported.

Scotto adds that the Clippers are looking to avoid taking on any contracts that run beyond 2025/26, since they’re prioritizing cap flexibility for the summer of ’26.

Here’s more from Scotto:

The Nuggets, Clippers, and Knicks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Scotto reports. Boucher is on an expiring $10.8MM contract.
Scotto confirms that Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who has a $23MM expiring contract, is a candidate to be included in a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade, as has been previously reported. There are a number of playoff-caliber teams hoping that Brown ends up being bought out after the deadline instead, Scotto adds.
The Suns are exploring the possibility of attaching one of their newly acquired first-round picks to center Jusuf Nurkic in order to land a quality rotation player via trade, sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto says Phoenix doesn’t view Nurkic as a salary dump and believes he’ll have more value on the trade market in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract. While I agree he may be easier to move in the summer, it’s hard to imagine Nurkic having positive or even neutral trade value at that point due to his $19.4MM cap hit for 2025/26.

Bulls, Suns Have Discussed Bradley Beal

January 27th, 2025 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls are “absolutely involved in conversations with the Suns involving possible Jimmy Butler situations,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated on Monday’s episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).

While Windhorst was careful about what he did and didn’t say in addressing the discussions between Chicago and Phoenix, he made it clear that Bradley Beal‘s name has come up in those conversations and that the Bulls aren’t looking to reacquire Butler themselves.

“If I’m talking about a three-team trade and Jimmy Butler is on one end and (he’s) not going to Chicago, we’re talking about Bradley Beal,” Windhorst said. “… The bottom line is that the Bulls and the Suns have talked and the concept of Bradley Beal ending up in Chicago has been discussed. I’m not saying it’s going to happen. I’m not saying it’s close or whatever. Obviously, Beal has a no-trade clause.”

As we’ve written many times in recent weeks, the Suns and Butler have strong mutual interest. And in order to acquire the Heat star, whose cap hit is $48.8MM, Phoenix would need to include Beal and his $50.2MM cap hit in its outgoing package for salary-matching purposes.

However, Miami reportedly has no interest in taking on Beal’s maximum-salary contract, which comes with a no-trade clause and covers two more seasons beyond this one. That means at least one more team would need to be included in a deal sending Butler to Phoenix in order to take on Beal’s contract and to send the Heat the sort of assets they’re looking for.

While it’s possible the Bulls could be that team, their most obvious salary-matching fit in such a deal – Zach LaVine ($43MM) – may not appeal to the Heat because his contract runs beyond the 2025/26 season. Multiple reports have indicated that Miami is prioritizing cap flexibility in 2026 and is strongly opposed to taking on salary beyond that season.

During the Hoop Collective discussion, Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Tim Bontemps also questioned why the Bulls would be motivated to swap out LaVine for Beal, given the limited draft assets the Suns could offer as sweeteners and the All-Star caliber season LaVine is having so far this year (24.0 PPG on .512/.444/.792 shooting).

Phoenix has three first-round picks available to trade, but each of them includes “least favorable” language and seems likely to end up in the 20s. Bontemps argues that the Bulls will be able to get better value for LaVine, who would reportedly prefer to remain in Chicago past the trade deadline, if they wait until a little later in his contract to move him.

Chicago could theoretically trade for Beal without including LaVine, since the team has other trade candidates – starting with Lonzo Ball ($21.4MM) and Nikola Vucevic ($20MM) – whose salaries could be aggregated to match Beal’s incoming figure. But that would leave the Bulls with both Beal’s and LaVine’s maximum-salary contracts on their books and overlapping skill sets on their roster.

Although there are permutations of a multi-team Butler deal that might make sense for all of the Suns, Bulls, and Heat, it would likely require at least one additional trade partner and wouldn’t be easy to construct. It would also require Beal to agree to waive his no-trade clause in order to join a team that’s likely lottery-bound.

Presumably, the discussions between Chicago and Phoenix are about figuring out what that path might look like. There’s no indication they gained any real momentum.

For what it’s worth, one report last week linked LaVine to the Bucks. It sounded like no more than speculation, but maybe there’s a viable scenario that sends Butler to Phoenix, Beal to Chicago, LaVine to Milwaukee, and various pieces to Miami.

It’s also worth noting that both the Bulls and Suns have other trade candidates who are making nearly identical salaries this season and are strong candidates for changes of scenery: Chicago forward Patrick Williams ($18MM) and Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic ($18.13MM).

Williams is a former No. 4 overall pick who showed three-and-D promise earlier in his career but whose development has stalled. Nurkic has been a starter for most of his 11-year NBA career, but has fallen out of Phoenix’s frontcourt rotation. It’s possible the Suns would be willing to roll the dice on unlocking untapped potential in Williams, who is still just 23. It’s also possible the Bulls would like the idea of taking on a contract that will end in 2026, three years before Williams’ does.

However, Windhorst didn’t say anything during the Hoop Collective podcast about either of those players being discussed.

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