Utah
Likelihood of Jimmy Butler trade to Suns increases following Phoenix-Utah deal: Source
By Sam Amick, David Aldridge, Tony Jones, Jon Krawczynski, Sam Vecenie and Rebecca Tauber
The Phoenix Suns appear to be stocking up for a Jimmy Butler trade.
In the wake of the Suns’ deal with the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, in which Phoenix tripled its lot of available first-round picks, a source close to the Miami Heat star said there is rising optimism that he’s closer to reaching his desired destination — Phoenix — as a result. Yet as has been reported for months now, that possible deal is widely expected to include Bradley Beal, the Suns guard whose no-trade clause continues to loom large in this situation.
If Beal were willing, he would likely go to a third team. Yet according to a source close to Beal, there were no talks between the Suns and Beal as of Tuesday night about the prospect of him waiving his clause.
It doesn’t add up — for now, at least — but the league-wide speculation about what might come next was in full effect because of the Suns’ latest efforts. As several rival executives indicated, Milwaukee is a team worth monitoring as the Suns continue to look for third-team partners in a Butler deal. Per league sources, the Bucks’ motives would be two-fold: Cut enough salary from their payroll to get under the second apron — the only way the Bucks can legally complete a trade while aggregating contracts — and also add a talented, highly paid player to play next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the NBA’s top scoring duo. Whether that would be Beal, or perhaps a star like Chicago’s Zach LaVine, in other potential scenarios remains to be seen.
Earlier Tuesday, the Suns traded their 2031 unprotected first-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, league sources told The Athletic. ESPN first reported the trade.
The Suns received the least favorable of the first-round picks between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves this year and the least favorable of the Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Jazz picks in 2027 and 2029. The Cavaliers have the NBA’s best record so far this season, so the 2025 pick is likely to be at the bottom of the first round. The picks in 2027 and 2029 are also likely to be in the 20s.
How adding more first-round picks helps the Suns potentially acquire Butler
The Suns have a lot they’re trying to accomplish by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. First, of course, is figuring out a way to get Butler from Miami – but that is still contingent on getting Beal to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate any deal with the Heat, whether a two-team or multi-team deal. In the interim, Phoenix also has to find a way to move veteran center Jusuf Nurkić, and to do that, the Suns will likely have to attach a future first-round pick with him to get a team to take on Nurk’s $19.3 million for 2025-26.
With the three firsts from Utah, the Suns can now avoid the Stepien Rule and trade a first in any of the next six drafts (but, still, not in consecutive years). By turning one (unprotected) first into three picks, Phoenix has a little more flexibility to get into more potential deals — and more inventory to put into a Butler trade. — David Aldridge, senior columnist
What Utah gets out of the deal with Phoenix
After the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades, the Jazz had been overloaded with future draft selections, with 13 more first-rounders scheduled to arrive in the next seven years prior to this deal. Already, Utah has the third-youngest team in the league based on minutes played, even with Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Drew Eubanks (all 27 or older) logging significant minutes. Utah has six players currently on the roster from the 2023 and 2024 NBA Drafts, and all of those players were 20 years old or younger to start the season.
This trade consolidates their three worst first-round picks into one potentially high-value selection: An unprotected Phoenix Suns first-rounder in 2031. The picks the Jazz sent out are likely to be No. 29 or 30 overall pick in 2025, a pick likely to be in the 20s in 2027 and another pick that should be a late first-rounder in 2029.
For the Jazz, this trade is a bet against the long-term future of the Suns after this era ends. Some league sources are highly skeptical about the longevity of this Suns era and aren’t sure they even sustain the middling level of success they’ve achieved in this Kevin Durant-Devin Booker-Beal era. Even if this trade leads to the Suns acquiring the 35-year-old Butler, that could lead to further issues in the future, especially if Butler receives a contract extension upon joining the team.
On the flip side, other league sources believe Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s willingness to spend long-term will prevent the Suns from truly bottoming out.
Nevertheless, this deal is likely worth it for the Jazz if they simply receive a pick in the back half of the lottery. Anything beyond that makes it an enormous win. Additionally, if the Suns start to bottom out in a few years, this pick could become highly sought after on the trade market right around the time the Jazz expect to be competing and turning things around.
All told, it’s a deal that executives league-wide believe makes sense for Utah. — Sam Vecenie, senior NBA writer
Eric Nehm contributed to this story.
Required reading
(Photo: Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
The Utah Jazz are rolling into a big offseason before they into what’s projected to be a wildly different-looking 2026-27 campaign from what they had just seen this past 22-win season.
But before that season is able to get underway, the Jazz have some priorities to address in the offseason––both in terms of constructing their roster and retaining a few key pieces from last year’s group into next year.
That makes their salary cap situation and everything around it important to be aware of in the next few months. So with that in mind, we’ve put together an offseason cap tracker for a glimpse of what the Jazz are dealing with in terms of cap space, contracts, and any of their own free agents hitting the open market.
Let’s break it down:
Maximum Possible Cap Space: $24.7M
The Jazz are currently projected at just under $25 million in cap headed into the summer. That’s without any additional moves made to the roster from how they’re entering the offseason, and without factoring in any free agents’ pending cap holds.
That number is bound to get smaller once the Jazz hash out their contract situation for Walker Kessler, but it could also see an uptick if Utah were to shed salary with some of their non-guaranteed deals, or any other player they wanted to pivot from.
As of now, it allows the Jazz to make a couple of moves around the edges in free agency, but the main focus will lean on signing Kessler to a long-term deal.
Contracts
A glimpse of the Jazz’s contract values for the 2026-27 season, and when they’re slated to hit free agency from their current deals:
– Jaren Jackson Jr.: $49.0M, ’29 PO
– Lauri Markkanen: $46.1M, ’29 UFA
– Ace Bailey: $9.5M, ’29 RFA
– Keyonte George: $6.5M, ’27 RFA
– John Konchar: $6.1M, ’27 UFA
– Cody Williams: $6.0M, ’28 RFA
– Brice Sensabaugh, $4.8M, ’27 RFA
– Svi Mykhailiuk: $3.8M*, ’28 UFA
– Kyle Filipowski: $3.0M, ’28 RFA
– Isaiah Collier: $2.7M, ’28 RFA
– Hayden Gray: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Bez Mbeng: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Blake Hinson (two-way), ’27 RFA
Total: $142.1M
*- non-guaranteed
The biggest chunk of the Jazz’s salary leans on their top two veterans, Markkanen and Jackson Jr., each making a combined $95 million next season alone.
However, the rest of the roster isn’t taking up much money. No one else will be making more than $10 million, and their payroll is a little less than $150 million in total.
Another noteworthy fact: the Jazz’s key roster pieces outside of George and Sensabaugh are all under contract through the next two seasons.
Both of the aforementioned names are also bound to see extension discussions take place this summer, which might lock in their future for even longer.
Free Agents
A look at who from this season’s roster is set to hit the free agent market in July:
– Kevin Love (UFA)
– Jusuf Nurkic (UFA)
– Walker Kessler (RFA)
– Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way)
– Elijah Harkless (two-way)
The biggest name of note is, of course, the Jazz’s restricted free agent big man, Walker Kessler, who Utah is bound to hand a big payday, but it remains to be seen how much that contract––or offer sheet from another team––will be.
Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have also expressed their desire to return to the roster as they hit free agency. Re-signing both likely wouldn’t cost much for the Jazz financially, but instead relies on a question of whether the roster space is readily available to keep both.
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Utah
Golden Knights vs. Mammoth Game 1 prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bets for Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Utah Mammoth is going to be a trendy underdog pick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Not only does Utah have the novelty of this being its first-ever appearance in the postseason going for it, but the Mammoth tick plenty of other boxes that punters look for in a dark horse. They’re fast, dynamic, and create plenty of quality scoring chances.
The only problem is that they are running into the Vegas Golden Knights, arguably the best defensive team in the Western Conference, in Round 1.
Vegas is a -170 favorite to win the series, and it is -152 to win Game 1 on Sunday night.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights odds, prediction
The Golden Knights had a weird season. Vegas started hot, took its foot off the pedal, and struggled to regain its form down the stretch. That led to a surprising coaching switch late in the campaign, but the move paid immediate dividends as John Tortorella led the Knights to a 7-0-1 record in his eight games behind the bench.
It should be noted that Tortorella benefited from an easy schedule since taking over in Vegas, but it’s hard to deny that the team looks sparked with a new voice in their ear.
What’s especially encouraging for Vegas is that its most glaring weakness, the play of goaltender Carter Hart, has started to trend in the right direction at the exact right time.
And Vegas is so good in its own zone that Hart doesn’t need to stand on his head to get the team over the line against Utah. If he’s just average, the Knights will stand a chance, especially since Utah’s goaltending situation is just as much of a question mark.
Betting on the NHL?
Outside of Vejmelka outplaying Hart, the Mammoth will also need to get this series on their terms if they want to pull the upset. Utah grades out as a slightly above-average defensive outfit, but its strength is up front with dynamic playmakers like Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller, plus sharp-shooter Dylan Guenther.
For those stars to have an impact, the Mammoth will need to get Vegas to open up and engage in a back-and-forth style. I just don’t see that happening with a team that was so disciplined in its own zone all season. The Knights led the NHL in expected goals against and high-danger chances conceded at 5-on-5, which shouldn’t be a shocker given the personnel in Sin City.
Not only does Vegas boast a deep blueline, but forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone are regarded as two of the best defensive minds in the entire sport.
Perhaps Utah can blitz Vegas and pull the upset, but I’d need a bigger number to go against the experienced, defensively savvy Knights in a best-of-7.
And if you’re looking for a play with more upside, have a good look at Vegas to pull off the sweep at 12/1.
The Play: Vegas moneyline (-152) | Vegas to sweep the series (12/1, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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