Trade Rumors: Beal, Cavs, Pacers, Market Activity

Speaking this week to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Bradley Beal‘s agent Mark Bartelstein said that reports about specific teams his client would waive his no-trade clause for are “created out of thin air.”

Rumors this month have indicated that the Suns guard would be open to destinations like Miami, Denver, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles, but Bartelstein didn’t confirm Beal’s interest in those spots. He also suggested that he and Beal wouldn’t dismiss any possibilities without giving them some real thought.

“I never operate in terms of absolutes, meaning that we would never say there would never be a trade that you would not consider,” Bartelstein said. “You always keep an open mind like everyone does in all aspects of their life, and so if something was to come around that you were truly excited about, you always have to consider those things.”

Beal is considered a trade candidate because the Suns reportedly have serious interest in Jimmy Butler and Beal’s inclusion in an outgoing package would be the only realistic way to make a deal work. However, several recent reports have stated that Phoenix hasn’t come to Beal to discuss any trade scenarios, and Bartelstein has repeatedly said his client’s focus is on getting his ankle healthy and helping Phoenix win games.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

• The Cavaliers have conveyed that they’re fine with the idea of paying the luxury tax, given how well the team is performing, but rival NBA executives are skeptical and are keeping an eye on Cleveland as a candidate to make a small salary-dump deal before the deadline, says Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Cavs are currently operating just $1.7MM above the luxury tax line.
• Within his look at potential suitors for Brooklyn forward Cameron Johnson, Scotto says the Pacers are getting inquiries from teams around the NBA on several of their young players, including Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, and Ben Sheppard. After a 9-14 start, the Pacers have been hitting their stride over the past couple months, winning 15 of their past 21 games, so it’s unclear if they’ll have the appetite for a deadline deal that shakes up their roster.
• According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter links), teams around the NBA believe that the Butler standoff in Miami could be delaying some trade activity. “We have a deal basically done, but the other team could be in a four- or five-team trade involving Butler,” one assistant GM told Smith. “So, they need to hold for now. So, yeah, that’s going to be such a big trade that we all just have to wait it out.” The expectation is that the dam will break in the final days leading up to the deadline if there’s no traction on a Butler deal by that point, Smith adds.
• Smith published his 2025 trade deadline primer for Spotrac this week, while Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has updated his 2024/25 trade board, with Butler, Zach LaVine, and Johnson at the top.