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.

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