Bucks Haven’t Contacted Suns About Bradley Beal

There have been rumors lately that the Bucks might be interested in taking on Bradley Beal as part of a larger trade that would send Heat forward Jimmy Butler to the Suns. However, NBA insider Chris Haynes says in a Twitter video that Milwaukee hasn’t contacted Phoenix at all to ask about a potential Beal trade.

“It was explained to me that a connection between the two is nonexistent,” Haynes said, “so if Phoenix is able to acquire Jimmy Butler, it would not come via the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the star guard.”

If the Bucks aren’t involved, it could become very difficult for the Suns to find any team willing to accept Beal’s contract, which pays him $53.7MM next season with a $57.1MM player option for 2026/27. That’s a huge financial risk for a 31-year-old guard whose scoring numbers have declined during both of his years in Phoenix and who hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since 2018/19.

Beal also has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means he has the right to reject any deal the Suns make. He recently stated that no one from management has reached out to him or his agent to discuss a possible trade.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 states that he hasn’t heard of any teams that have expressed interest in acquiring Beal, and there are only “a select few” places that Beal would be willing to go (Twitter link).

As a second-apron team, Phoenix can’t take back more salary than it sends out and can’t aggregate players to match Butler’s $48.8MM deal. Miami reportedly isn’t interested in Beal, partially due to the no-trade clause, so at least one more team will have to get involved to facilitate the trade.

Phoenix made a trade with Utah on Tuesday, acquiring three first-round picks in exchange for its unprotected first-rounder in 2031. The Suns were presumably planning to use those picks to incentivize someone to add Beal, but they may be saved for other trades if there are no takers.