An update on the Jimmy Butler trade rumors

What does the latest from the rumor mill say about Butler and a possible trade to the Bucks?

The NBA trade news cycle has been laser-focused on Jimmy Butler’s potential landing spot for a week in the wake of Butler essentially demanding a trade on January 2 by saying he wanted to get his joy back and that it wouldn’t happen with the Miami Heat. Over the last week, several teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns, have either been listed as potential landing spots for the disgruntled former All-Star forward or removed from the list via Butler’s camp. With so much news, reporting, and scoops, we thought it would be a good time to catch everyone up on where the Butler trade rumors stand.

Who’s been told to leave the table?

There were initially four teams in the mix that were rumored to be trying to trade for Butler: the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and, the surprise of the bunch, the Milwaukee Bucks. I’ll start with the Bucks because why wouldn’t I? Per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, the Bucks and the Grizzlies were two teams that were in discussions about a potential Butler trade back on Monday.

Things quickly shifted a day later when Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that Milwaukee was told not to trade for the former Marquette wing. Chris Haynes said the same day that the Grizzlies were also told to beat it on the Butler sweepstakes.

Lastly, the Golden State Warriors were another team that had been linked as another potential landing spot next to Steph Curry. Yet even before the rumors of the Grizzlies and Bucks had landed online, Sam Amick and Marcus Thompson of The Atheltic had reported that the Warriors had no interest in making a trade for Butler: “Yet according to a source close to Butler, the Warriors are not currently seen as a viable option and there have been no substantive talks or traction to get any type of deal done… Butler’s age and injury history makes him a risky choice. His price tag makes him an untenable option.” Curry was among the prominent figures inside the team that were nixing a potential deal.

Who’s in the mix?

It seems that the list has been cut down to just one team in the Butler sweepstakes: the Phoenix Suns. Suns owner Matt Ishbia loves to toss around some money and make big-time moves, and it seems they are poised to do it once again. Marc Stein reported that the Suns are the most interested in trading for Butler and that they would be willing to give Butler an extension beyond next season when Butler has a $52.4m player option. Kendrick Perkins even threw his hat in the ring, reporting on the Road Trippin Podcast that the Suns have a two-year, $121m extension waiting for Jimmy in Phoenix:

Why hasn’t a trade happened yet?

A quick and simple answer is likely due to another former All-Star: Bradley Beal. When Beal got his super-max extension by Washington back in the 2022 off-season, the Wizards gave Beal a no-trade clause as part of the deal, which he waived when got sent to the Suns just one off-season later. Safe to say that the experiment with Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant has not worked out, with Phoenix currently sitting as the 12th seed in the Western Conference (16-19), yet just a game out of the play-in and 4.5 games back of the four seed Denver Nuggets. After starting the season 8-1, they’ve gone 8-18 and the big three have a negative net rating of -5.9 when all three of them share the court. So it makes sense for the Suns to want to shake things up.

For now it seems that the Bucks aren’t involved with the Butler trade saga, but if there are any new developments regarding him being connected with Milwaukee, we’ll keep you apprised.