Bradley Beal Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Reinsert Beal Into Starting Five, Move Jones To Bench

February 22nd, 2025 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The slumping Suns are making a lineup change for Saturday’s game in Chicago, having announced that Bradley Beal will be reinserted into the starting five, with Tyus Jones moving to the bench (Twitter link).

Beal, who has been coming off the bench since January 4, will start alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale, and Nick Richards. It will be the first time this season that Jones will be part of the second unit — he had been previously been available for 54 games and started all of them.

The Suns, who have lost seven of eight games and are just 26-29 on the season, have been searching for the right lineup combinations for much of the year. The team’s most-used five-man group, which featured Jones, Booker, Beal, and Durant alongside recently traded center Jusuf Nurkic, had a net rating of -17.1 in 119 minutes.

A handful of other starting lineups featuring Jones have also struggled to outscore opponents. Jones, Booker, Durant, Richards, and Ryan Dunn have a -4.4 net rating together, while the starting five that the Suns deployed on Thursday coming out of the All-Star break (Jones, Booker, Durant, O’Neale, and Richards) has posted a -23.7 net rating in a small sample size (31 minutes). Saturday’s starting lineup has played just eight minutes together.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter video link) predicted on Friday that Jones’ time as a starter would soon come to an end, referring to it as “long overdue.” As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter video link) points out, Booker has been functioning more like the point guard in the first unit, with Jones spending more time off the ball.

Still, speaking today to reporters shortly before the club announced its new starting five, head coach Mike Budenholzer defended Jones and his importance to the team.

“He organizes us. He brings leadership, stability,” Budenholzer said, per Rankin. “He’s a point guard. He’s that guy that’s looking to get everybody involved. Has a comfort level with that spot. He’s been good.”

Suns Notes: Jones, Durant, Beal, Locker Room

February 8th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Addressing the media prior to Friday’s game, general manager James Jones didn’t seem worried that Kevin Durant will react negatively to finding out that the Suns considered trade offers for him before Thursday’s deadline, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Jones doesn’t believe Durant will let the trade speculation become a distraction as the team fights to secure a playoff spot.

“Kevin has been around the noise his entire career,” Jones said. “He’s a pro. He’s the best at it. It gets noisy when you’re not winning. The simple fact is we haven’t won enough and if we’re not winning enough, the storylines pop up, but we’re talking about basketball and he’s always shown and will continue to show, and I think this team will continue to show, that despite the things outside of our walls, we’ll focus on the task at hand and focus on ball.”

Durant sat out Friday’s game with a sprained left ankle and didn’t talk to the media, as the NBA’s policy doesn’t require injured players to do interviews. Jones refused to comment on a rumored deal with Golden State that was reportedly nixed when Durant said he didn’t want to return to the Warriors. Jones was also asked if he needs to smooth things over with his star player after trade talks collapsed.

“It’s ongoing dialogue with the team, but when you get to the trade deadline, every team has these moments of frustration, these moments of uncertainty,” Jones responded. “You talk about that early in the season, going into the preseason. You talk about that going into the trade deadline. You talk about it going into the playoffs. It’s an ongoing conversation. It’s not just something that you respond to at these type of pivotal moments. It’s a daily conversation about how you continue to stay focused on the task at hand, which is playing basketball at a high level and winning basketball games.”

Rankin points out that Durant passed on a chance to sign a one-year, $59.5MM extension before the start of the season, which makes him eligible for a two-year, $123.8MM extension this summer. There’s now less certainty that he’ll accept that extension if he’s unhappy about having been on the trade market.

There’s more from Phoenix:

Bradley Beal is ready to move forward with the season now that the deadline has passed, Rankin adds in a separate story. Some fans are angry at Beal because he wasn’t willing to waive his no-trade clause to help the team land Jimmy Butler, but Royce O’Neale doesn’t believe they should be. “What are they going to be mad for?” O’Neale said. “We love Brad. He’s sacrificed a lot for this team, whether he’s starting, coming off the bench. His mentality, his character hasn’t changed. He does whatever it takes for us to win. Credit to him everything that he’s been through, everything that his family has heard.”
Suns players are disputing a claim by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that their locker room is “toxic” due to the Durant situation. “The locker room has been good all year long. It hasn’t changed at all either, so I don’t know where that came from,” said Grayson Allen (Twitter video link from Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). O’Neale echoed the same sentiment, saying, “I feel like they be making up some stuff sometimes. I seen that, I was like, I don’t know what they talkin’ ‘bout.” (Twitter video link)
Coach Mike Budenholzer provided updates on Durant, Beal and Allen, who all missed tonight’s game due to injuries (Twitter video link from Bourguet). Budenholzer said Durant’s ankle issue is “probably very short-term” and expressed hope that the two days off will help him heal. Beal has toe soreness in his left foot, and Allen is experiencing pain in his right knee. Budenholzer considers them both to be day to day.

More On Kevin Durant: Curry Convo, Warriors/Heat Trade Talks

February 7th, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors and Suns began “secretly” talking about the possibility of a Kevin Durant trade early last week, according to Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who say that the star forward and his longtime manager and agent Rich Kleiman didn’t learn about those discussions until the two teams played one another last Friday.

By Saturday, the two teams were far enough along in negotiations that Durant and Stephen Curry touched base to talk about the idea. Shelburne and Windhorst hear from sources that Durant told Curry a reunion with the Warriors “didn’t feel right” and that this “wasn’t the time” for them to team up again.

While the Warriors were discouraged by Durant’s stance, they didn’t give up on making a deal at that point, hoping that Durant might change his tune once he learned how far down the road Phoenix had gotten in those discussions without informing him, per ESPN.

The Suns have internally conceded that it was a mistake not to loop Durant into the process earlier, Shelburne and Windhorst say. The former MVP has been described as “blindsided” by being so heavily involved in trade rumors this week after having expressed a desire to stay in Phoenix.

“We should’ve gone through (Kleiman),” a team source told ESPN.

As Shams Charania reported earlier today, the Warriors, Suns, and Heat discussed a potential multi-team trade that would’ve sent both Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga to Phoenix, with Durant going to Golden State. Shelburne and Windhorst provide more details on those conversations, reporting that the Wizards were involved as well, as we speculated on Wednesday.

The four teams were negotiating a trade that would have looked like this, according to ESPN:

Durant to Golden State.
Butler, Kuminga, Jonas Valanciunas, two first-round picks (from the Warriors), two second-round picks (one each from Miami and Golden State), and pick swaps to Phoenix.
Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson, and the Cavaliers’ 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix) to Miami.

There are some missing details there — among them, Jusuf Nurkic would’ve been involved and would’ve gone to the Wizards, who presumably would’ve sought at least a first-rounder from the Suns as a sweetener to take on that contract.

While it sounds like there was some momentum in those negotiations, the Heat ultimately weren’t sold on the deal. They sought the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick rather than Cleveland’s, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that Golden State also had some reservations about the Suns’ steep asking price for Durant.

With Durant standing firm on his stance that he had no desire to go to Golden State, the talks fell apart.

After those discussions ended, there was a window for the Heat to potentially acquire Durant in a trade that would send Butler to Phoenix. Durant would have been more open to playing in Miami than Golden State, sources tell ESPN, and the Suns and Heat traded “visions” of what a deal might look like, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

However, the Suns were seeking a massive haul for Durant that included “a combination of talented young players and draft picks,” Jackson writes. According to both ESPN and the Herald, the Heat considered the price too steep and backed out, pivoting to a Butler deal with the Warriors that cut out Phoenix altogether.

The Suns were “deflated” by the outcome, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that there were several times during the weeks leading up to Thursday’s deadline that Phoenix thought there might be a path to a Butler deal involving Bradley Beal.

However, sources tell ESPN that the Hawks and Wizards were believed to be the only teams considering taking on Beal, and it’s unclear whether he would’ve waived his no-trade clause for either team. The Suns reportedly never got close enough to a deal to approach Beal about it, eventually pivoting to exploring a Durant scenario without first informing the star forward.

As Windhorst noted on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, we’ll find out this coming summer whether those Suns trade talks involving Durant will sour him on the idea of remaining in Phoenix beyond this season.

Trade Rumors: Boucher, Nuggets, Vucevic, Pelicans, Suns

February 6th, 2025 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are a suitor to watch for Raptors big man Chris Boucher, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links).

However, even though Denver “definitely” has interest in Boucher, the team is extremely limited in terms of both draft assets and appealing matching salary. Its two most expendable veterans, Zeke Nnaji ($8.9MM) and Dario Saric ($5.2MM), are both on multiyear contracts, making them negative trade assets.

The Nuggets are also operating above the first tax apron, so they can’t take back more money than they send out in a trade. They would likely “jump” at the chance to sign Boucher on the buyout market, Grange says, but it’s unclear if Toronto would consider a buyout for the big man if he’s not traded today.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

As of two hours before the trade deadline, there was no momentum toward a Nikola Vucevic deal between the Warriors and Bulls, says K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links). If Vucevic ends up staying in Chicago through the deadline, the expectation is that he’d be on the trade block again in the offseason, Johnson notes.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and guard CJ McCollum aren’t going anywhere at the trade deadline, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, who said on ESPN’s NBA Today that both players are on track to remain in New Orleans after the team agreed to trade Brandon Ingram to Toronto.
The Suns‘ Jusuf Nurkic trade with Charlotte is expected to be the only deal Phoenix makes today, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). That means the team will move forward with its “big three” of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal despite many rumors involving Durant and Beal leading up to today’s deadline.

Warriors Shift Focus Back To Jimmy Butler

February 5th, 2025 at 3:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After getting word that Kevin Durant was opposed to the idea of reuniting with Golden State, the Warriors have opted to move on to other trade targets, ending their pursuit of the Suns forward, Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic confirm, echoing earlier reports.

According to Amick and Slater, the Warriors were willing to make a substantial offer for Durant and might have been in position to land him if he’d been even lukewarm on the possibility of coming back to the Bay Area, but they didn’t want to risk having to deal with a disgruntled KD.

On the subject of disgruntled stars, Amick and Slater say it’s still up in the air whether the Warriors will get back in the mix for Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who has also made it clear he’s not enthusiastic about the idea of being traded to Golden State.

However, NBA insider Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Warriors have indeed shifted their focus back to trying to acquire Butler.

Golden State’s pursuit of Butler has seemingly been on and off again for the better part of a month. Shortly after the 35-year-old formally requested a trade, reports indicated that the Warriors didn’t plan to seek out a deal for him, but they exhibited renewed interest last week when the Heat’s asking price reportedly dropped.

Although ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said over the weekend that the Warriors were once again backing off Butler after he communicated that he wasn’t interested in signing an extension with the team, reports this week have suggested that Golden State was never fully out of the hunt. With Durant seemingly off the table, it makes sense that the Warriors would once again circle back to the Heat star.

As has been the case for weeks, the Suns and Warriors appear to be the frontrunners for Butler. Phoenix has been unable to work out a deal structured around Bradley Beal due to his no-trade clause and pricey contract, but if the Suns are willing to consider the idea of trading Durant to Miami for Butler, the Heat would certainly be interested, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

A swap along those lines would likely require Miami to attach a handful of sweeteners (draft picks, young players, etc.) to entice Phoenix — a third team may also still be necessary due to the Suns’ and Heat’s apron-related restrictions.

A Warriors offer for Butler would likely be centered around Andrew Wiggins, expiring contracts, and draft assets. Dennis Schröder‘s expiring deal (worth $13MM) would probably be part of Golden State’s package, according to Stein (Twitter link).

A team source tells The Athletic that the Warriors remain “determined” to get something done before Thursday’s deadline, so if they miss out on Butler, they could end up pivoting to a secondary target such as Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram or Bulls center Nikola Vucevic.

Regarding Ingram, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) says the Pelicans have gained some traction on potential deals involving the star forward. Fischer and Stein have reported that the Raptors and Hawks are among the teams talking to New Orleans about Ingram.

As for Vucevic, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links) has heard that the Warriors aren’t sure about pursuing the big man at Chicago’s asking price, but suggests a deal remains possible if Golden State can’t land a bigger-name target and/or the Bulls’ price comes down.

Latest On Kevin Durant

February 5th, 2025 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

As Thursday’s trade deadline approaches, trade rumors involving Suns forward Kevin Durant continue to percolate. Reporting on Monday indicated that the Warriors were eyeing Durant, with a story on Tuesday suggesting that the Mavericks and Rockets may also be in the mix.

There had been no real indication prior to this week that Durant would be available at the trade deadline, but it sounds like the Suns could be wavering on that stance.

Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link), and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) are among the reporters who have suggested in recent days that there’s a rising belief around the NBA that a Durant deal is a possibility.

Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) echoed that sentiment late on Tuesday night, citing sources who say that the Suns have talked to teams besides Golden State about Durant and seem more open to discussing the star forward than they’ve ever been in the past.

Still, Stein and Fischer aren’t sure that Houston and Dallas should be considered serious suitors for Durant at this point. Stein suggests the Rockets still don’t appear particularly motivated to shake up their roster with a major in-season move before assessing how their young core performs in the postseason. The Rockets seem more inclined to use their flexibility below the luxury tax line to participate as a facilitator in multi-team trades, Stein writes.

As for the Mavs, they don’t look realistically positioned to make a move for another maximum-salary player like Durant this week after completing a Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis mega-deal over the weekend. According to Stein and Fischer, there was “no tangible expectation” in Dallas as of Tuesday night that the Mavs would be a major player in any Durant sweepstakes. The Stein Line duo believes the team will focus this season on integrating Davis and then potentially explore another major trade in the summer.

One reason there has been an increase in trade chatter surrounding Durant, sources tell Stein and Fischer, is that it’s believed to be the only way the Suns could realistically acquire Heat forward Jimmy Butler. A package headlined by Bradley Beal has been Phoenix’s preferred route to a Butler deal, but a number of factors – including Beal’s no-trade clause, his unwieldy contract, and the Suns’ lack of sweeteners – have made that path a non-starter.

The sources whom Stein and Fischer spoke to couldn’t offer a great answer when asked why the Suns would want to add Butler while giving up Durant, but that scenario does seem to be in play. Gambadoro (Twitter link) says he talked to one team that believes Durant will end up in Golden State, with Butler headed to Phoenix.

Presumably, if the Suns were to trade Durant in a Butler deal, they’d also be able to extract multiple other assets from the Warriors (or whichever team landed Durant), whereas a Beal-for-Butler trade would require Phoenix to be the team adding several extra assets to get it done. Those additional assets could help the Suns make upgrades elsewhere on the roster.

It’s worth noting that Durant ($51.2MM) doesn’t have a significantly higher cap hit than Butler ($48.8MM) and the Suns are a second-apron team unable to aggregate salaries or take back more than $51.2MM in non-minimum contracts for Durant. That means the Suns’ ability to take on additional contracts beyond Butler’s in that sort of multi-team deal would be limited unless they sent out another player or two.

Along those lines, Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reported on Tuesday (via Twitter) that the Suns and Wizards had momentum on a trade that would involve Jusuf Nurkic and Jonas Valanciunas. Gambadoro (Twitter link) followed up to say that it’s not a done deal and would likely only happen if it’s attached to a bigger trade, adding that Phoenix isn’t really interested in Valanciunas.

This is purely my speculation, but if the Suns were to tie Nurkic to a Durant/Butler trade, bringing in more teams, it’d be a way for them to add more players using Nurkic’s $18.1MM outgoing contract without requiring aggregation.

For instance, Jonathan Kuminga‘s $7.6MM salary and Valanciunas’ $9.9MM salary would both fit within that $18.1MM limit. Valanciunas could even be flipped to Golden State in that scenario, with one of the Warriors’ other outgoing players sent to Phoenix. But again, that’s just a hypothetical for now.

Mavs, Rockets Interested In Kevin Durant

February 4th, 2025 at 6:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Could the Mavericks pull off another trade shocker before Thursday’s deadline?

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, David Aldridge and Anthony Slater, the Mavericks are hopeful of adding Kevin Durant to form a new superstar trio alongside his former Nets teammate Kyrie Irving and newly-acquired Anthony Davis.

The Athletic’s reporters caution that a Durant deal this week to Dallas is unlikely but the Mavs’ interest demonstrates the approach of general manager Nico Harrison, who appears to be targeting big-time stars he knows well from his Nike days, with the aim of winning a championship ASAP.

The Rockets, who are known to covet Suns guard Devin Booker, are also contemplating a run at Durant, per The Athletic. While the Rockets have a young, seemingly sustainable core, adding an impact player like Durant might vault them into true title contender status this season. Houston currently has the West’s third-best record.

As reported on Monday, the Warriors are also in pursuit of Durant but thus far the Suns have set an exorbitant asking price in exploratory talks. According to Amick, Aldridge, and Slater, one of the players the Suns want in return is Draymond Green, who starred at owner Mat Ishbia’s alma mater, Michigan State. The Suns also have a level of interest in forward Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent after the season.

The Suns remain Jimmy Butler‘s preferred destination but talks with the Heat have stalled because Miami doesn’t want Bradley Beal in return. Beal, who anticipates remaining with Phoenix past the deadline, per The Athletic, would have to waive his no-trade clause to be dealt.

Trading Durant could provide an alternate pathway for Phoenix to enhance its offer to Miami for Butler, according to Amick, Aldridge, and Slater, who hear from league sources that the Suns’ messaging about how willing they are to move Durant varies from team to team.

Interestingly, the Suns list Durant as doubtful to play on Wednesday against OKC due to an ankle sprain, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. It could be construed as a way to ensure Durant’s health as Phoenix pursues deadline deals, though Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports notes (via Twitter) that the star forward did turn his ankle in overtime on Monday.

Latest On Jimmy Butler

February 4th, 2025 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

After reporting earlier this week that Jimmy Butler communicated to the Warriors that he’s not interested in signing an extension with them, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Tuesday during a TV appearance on Get Up (YouTube link) that the Heat forward remains laser-focused on getting to Phoenix.

“He is trying so hard to force his way to the Suns,” Windhorst said. “He has had several other opportunities where he could have gone, including the Warriors, who were willing to give him a contract extension. And he said, ‘No, send me to Phoenix.'”

While the fact that Phoenix is Butler’s preferred destination has been widely reported for weeks, the 35-year-old’s camp appears to be pushing back on the idea that he’s telling other teams he’s not willing to sign with them.

Sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) that Butler’s camp has repeatedly conveyed to the Heat that he’s healthy, in shape, and ready to continue his career. According to Haynes, their message to the team has been to negotiate the best deal possible, and if the Heat are nearing an agreement and that trade partner is granted permission by Miami to speak with Butler’s agent to discuss his future, that conversation would be “welcomed.”

To date, Haynes says, no team has requested permission to have that discussion to Butler’s agent.

For what it’s worth, Windhorst reported nearly a month ago that the Suns were the only team “ready to pay (Butler) exactly what he wants,” which is believed to be the primary reason why Phoenix is atop his wish list.

Here’s more on Butler:

Later on in his Tuesday appearance on Get Up (YouTube link), during a conversation about the Warriors’ search for a star, Windhorst suggested that a package of Andrew Wiggins and draft assets hasn’t gotten Golden State very far in most of its trade discussions. However, he thinks that could be enough to land Butler if the Heat can’t agree to terms with the Suns. “I will say this, I think Miami was willing to do that deal and they were willing to do that deal for Jimmy Butler,” Windhorst said. “So let’s see if by Thursday that gets revisited. Jimmy Butler didn’t want it, and because he’s got an option on his contract, he has some measure of control.”
Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald break down why the Heat aren’t interested in taking back Bradley Beal‘s contract in a Butler deal with the Suns, exploring how having that deal on the books would hamper the team’s flexibility going forward.
In a separate story for The Herald, Jackson and Chiang take a closer look at why the Heat feel some level of urgency to close the books on the Butler drama this week. As The Herald’s duo writes, if Butler remains on the roster through Thursday’s deadline and continues to push for a deal to Phoenix, it could result in him picking up his $52MM option for 2025/26, since the Suns will still be operating over the tax aprons and won’t be permitted to acquire a player via sign-and-trade.

Bradley Beal Reluctant To Change Teams Again

February 3rd, 2025 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

There have been reports that it would take a contending team in a warm-weather city for Bradley Beal to consider waiving his no-trade clause, but there’s another reason he prefers to remain in Phoenix, according to Fred Katz, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

A source familiar with Beal’s thinking tells the authors that he doesn’t want to uproot his family again less than two years after being traded to the Suns. Since that deal was made, the family moved from Washington to Los Angeles before finding a home in Phoenix. Another trade would either mean moving again or playing out the rest of the season away from his wife and their two children.

The source informs Katz, Amick and Nehm that Beal would approve a trade to a handful of cities, but the list is short. His priority is being with a contender, and although he doesn’t like the cold, he’s willing to accept it to get to the right situation.

The authors cite a report from last week that Beal wouldn’t be willing to accept a trade to the Bulls, who offer both cold weather and a remote chance to reach the playoffs. As they point out, that’s the dilemma for the Suns, who are hoping to find a taker for Beal’s contract so they can complete a trade for Jimmy Butler. Any team willing to pay Beal more than $110MM over the next two seasons is likely to be in the midst of rebuilding.

Katz, Amick and Nehm add that Beal would be interested in going to Miami, but the Heat don’t want him because of his salary, the multiple years left on his deal, and his no-trade clause. Once Butler is gone, Miami will be focused on creating cap room for a stellar free agent class in 2026.

The Suns are still considered to be the most aggressive suitor for Butler, but Beal’s situation may be too difficult to solve by Thursday’s trade deadline.

Warriors Halt Jimmy Butler Trade Talks

February 2nd, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cross the Warriors off the list of potential Jimmy Butler suitors, at least for now.

Butler has communicated to the Warriors that he’s unwilling to sign an extension there, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter link). In response, trade talks between the Heat and Warriors have halted, according to Windhorst.

The Warriors are reportedly interested in making a significant move before the trade deadline and Butler was one of the logical candidates to fulfill that goal. However, it’s well-known that Butler wants to be dealt to the Suns, who are hamstrung in making a blockbuster move because they’re operating over the second tax apron.

The only way Phoenix can complete such a deal to allow Butler to join forces with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant would be to send out Bradley Beal‘s contract. Miami hasn’t shown any interest in acquiring Beal, who has two years remaining on his contract after this season, including a $57.1MM option for 2026/27. Beal also has a no-trade clause and would have to agree to waive it whether he was routed to Miami or a third party.

The Suns are still the team pushing the hardest to land Butler ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang reports. In any Butler trade, the Heat want to acquire at least one quality player who can help the team this season, Chiang adds.

Butler, who has been suspended indefinitely by Miami for repeated violations of team rules, holds a $52.4MM option on his contract for next season.

Golden State also seriously explored trade proposals to acquire both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučevic from the Bulls before opting to pursue other deals, NBA insider Marc Stein tweets. LaVine is on the move to Sacramento.