Jimmy Butler

Heat Notes: Butler, Adebayo, Love, Ware, Richardson

It seems increasingly likely that Jimmy Butler will be rejoining the Heat when they return from their six-game road trip, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler, who is nearing the end of his suspension, has been working out at the team facility and is expected to return to the court on Friday if he’s still on the roster.

Team officials have been hoping to resolve the situation with a trade, but they reportedly haven’t made much progress. A source tells Chiang that Miami has engaged in trade talks with several teams over the past week, but isn’t close to making a deal.

In his latest Substack column (subscriber-only), Jake Fischer dives into some of the “conduct detrimental to the team” that the Heat cited when they imposed Butler’s suspension. League sources tell Fischer that Butler has skipped several morning shootarounds and has insisted on taking private flights to some games rather than traveling on the charter with his teammates.

In addition to not getting the contract extension that he wanted, Butler’s dissatisfaction may stem from the loss of several players whom he considered to be close friends, Fischer theorizes. Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin, who were starters on the team that reached the NBA Finals in 2023, all left in free agency over the past two offseasons.

“Those were [Butler’s] guys,” a source told Fischer.

Miami isn’t willing to move Butler just to get rid of a problem, adds Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. The front office is focused on finding players who can help the team win this season while taking back as little future salary as possible. The organization wants to rebuild around Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro without being burdened by another large contract.

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Adebayo was a late scratch for Monday’s game due to a lower back contusion, Chiang states in a separate story. He had been expected to play earlier in the day, but he was downgraded to questionable during the afternoon before being ruled out a few hours before game time. Adebayo was hurt Saturday in Portland when he fell to the court while trying to catch a pass. “He’s been dealing with it for a few days,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s getting a lot of treatment and it kind of seized up on him this morning. But we’ll treat him day to day and we’ll reevaluate him.”
  • With Adebayo unavailable, Spoelstra gave the start to Kevin Love, who had appeared in just one of the previous 12 games, Chiang adds. Love made three three-pointers in the first seven minutes Monday night, but didn’t score again, finishing with nine points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. Most of the center minutes went to rookie Kel’el Ware, who had 13 points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter and now seems like an established part of the rotation. “Kel’el has been playing really well,” Spoelstra said. “And he had a very good game tonight. … He’s making progress. It seems to be every day that he’s learning something new.”
  • Josh Richardson has returned to Miami to have an MRI on his heel and will miss the final game of the road trip Wednesday against the Lakers, the Heat announced (via Twitter). Richardson hasn’t appeared in a game since November 18.

Stein’s Latest: Nets, Butler, Giannis, Suns, Nembhard, Coaches

The Nets are the only NBA team projected to have maximum-salary cap room during the 2025 offseason, but they have no plans to pursue Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who could be the biggest free agent on the market next summer, reports Marc Stein in his latest Substack article.

According to Stein, despite their impressive cap flexibility and stash of future draft assets, the Nets aren’t necessarily locked in on the idea of pursuing a star via trade or in free agency over the summer — if no favorable opportunities to land a star arise, they may simply be patient and continue building through the draft.

On the other hand, if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to become available, that would substantially alter the Nets’ plans, according to Stein, who says rumblings around the NBA suggest the Bucks forward would be Brooklyn’s “dream target” and that the Nets would make a push for him if Milwaukee were willing to trade him. That’s probably a long shot this year though, since have been no indications the Bucks would ever consider moving Antetokounmpo unless he specifically asked for it.

Here’s more from Stein:

  • Stein is the latest reporter to confirm that there’s strong mutual interest between the Suns and Butler. “I’ve heard they want him bad,” one league source told Stein. Still, until Phoenix can find a taker for Bradley Beal and get Beal to sign off on that destination, the Suns don’t have a path to acquiring the Heat forward.
  • Andrew Nembhard would be an ideal target for a team facing apron restrictions due to his $2.02MM cap hit, his long-term team control, and his lack of poison pill restrictions following his extension. However, Stein says the Pacers guard is considered one of the most valuable assets on Indiana’s roster and is viewed as essentially “off-limits” in trade talks.
  • Taking an early look at the Coach of the Year race, Stein describes Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers as the clear favorite and says he’d fill out his hypothetical ballot with Jamahl Mosley of the Magic at No. 2 and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons at No. 3. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka earns an honorable mention.

Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Jovic, Highsmith

When the Heat announced that they’d suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games, they explained the decision by stating that the veteran forward had engaged in “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.” However, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source close to the situation that the club at one point sought to suspend Butler for a “failure to render services.”

The difference wouldn’t have just been a matter of semantics. As Winderman outlines, a standard suspension for conduct detrimental to the team costs a player 1/145th of his full-season salary per game. In Butler’s case, that works out to $2,355,798 over seven games. However, when a player is suspended for a failure to render services, it costs him 1/91.6th of his salary per game — that would’ve resulted in $3,729,157 in lost salary for the 35-year-old.

Based on Winderman’s reporting, it’s unclear whether the Heat reconsidered taking that route or were prevented from doing so — it presumably would’ve required the club to prove that Butler, who had been playing in games leading up to the suspension, had refused to render the services required by his contract.

Hours after the Heat initially announced the seven-game ban, the National Basketball Players Association put out a statement indicating it intended to file a grievance. It’s safe to assume the NBPA’s objections to the suspension would’ve been even more vociferous if the team had accused Butler of a failure to render services and attempted to recoup more of his salary.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • After suffering demoralizing losses to Utah and Sacramento in the first two games of Butler’s suspension, the Heat have righted the ship, beating Portland on Saturday for their third straight victory. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald points out, two players who were believed to be part of Miami’s 2023 trade offer for then-Blazers guard Damian Lillard led the way in the victory, as Tyler Herro scored a game-high 32 points and Nikola Jovic contributed a personal season-high of 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. “I like his improvement,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jovic. “He’s playing with more consistency. He’s preparing with more consistency.”
  • Jackson notes within the same Herald story that starting Haywood Highsmith at power forward has been a winning formula for Miami this season — the club is 17-11 when he starts and just 3-6 when he doesn’t. “He was great tonight,” Spoelstra said after Satuday’s win. “He gives us, when he’s at his best, point of attack defense, harassing other teams’ better guards and wing players. It’s a thankless job except in our locker room.” Highsmith re-signed with the Heat as an unrestricted free agent during the 2024 offseason on a two-year, $10.8MM deal.
  • Road wins in Golden State, Utah, and Portland this week show that the Heat aren’t unraveling without Butler, Jackson writes in a separate article for The Miami Herald. Highsmith told reporters that “the vibes are great,” while Herro said the club has rediscovered its identity. “Just rallying around each other, making it about the guys that are here now, the guys that are in this locker room,” Herro said. “We’ve got enough, and that’s all that matters. This is what we wanted to get back on the road, get away from all the chaos and come out here and compete and get back to who we are and get to our identity.”
  • The Lakers‘ and Clippers‘ home games on Saturday were postponed due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, but the Heat flew to L.A. on Saturday and are expecting for now to play the Clippers on Monday and Lakers on Wednesday, says Jackson.

Latest On Jimmy Butler

As Jimmy Butler serves out his seven-game suspension, the Heat don’t appear any closer to finding someone to take him off their hands, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy. Numerous executives and other league sources who talked to Bulpett expressed skepticism that Miami will be presented with a deal to its liking before the February 6 trade deadline.

It’s partially due to Butler’s age and desire for a contract extension this summer, but it’s also because of his history of disrupting teams whenever he’s unhappy.

“It’s more difficult than people think,” said one team’s head of basketball operations. “First of all, Jimmy’s 35 and doesn’t have much value. And then the team that would like him the most is probably Phoenix, because they’re so bad and they have the worst contract in (Bradley) Beal. Other than that, I don’t know of any teams that would want to take on Jimmy Butler, other than teams that just want to dump contracts — and Miami won’t go for that. I just don’t know how it’s going to work.

“But all this stuff with Jimmy — all the stuff in Miami and Minnesota and Chicago and Philly — all of it is because he wants to get paid. That’s where he’s at right now. He wants to be paid for what he’s done for Miami.”

Butler, who’s in his sixth year with the Heat, has only appeared in 22 of the team’s first 36 games. Coming into this season, he had vowed to be more available after being challenged by team president Pat Riley when Miami was eliminated from the playoffs last spring. Butler has played 58, 52, 57, 64 and 60 games the past five seasons, and his frequent absences have made the organization reluctant to offer the extension he wants.

Butler is scoring 17.6 PPG so far this season — his lowest mark in more than a decade — although his shooting splits remain strong at .552/.375/.788. At age 35, there’s plenty of doubt around the league about whether he can still play at a level to justify an expensive new contract. Butler has stated that he plans to turn down his $52.4MM player option for next season and test free agency, but that may not be his best financial move if he’s still in Miami past the deadline.

“You’d have to say Jimmy’s been good for Miami overall, but he’s also been very difficult,” a league source told Bulpett. “I think it’s just reached an end. It’s like he’s in charge; he doesn’t play all the time, and he’s had injuries that always seem to come up. He’s not as good as it was. He got a lot of mileage out of being a leader, a go-to guy, a big game player, but he wasn’t there night in and night out.”

Rival executives were skeptical about Riley’s commitment to Butler when he announced in late December that the Heat were taking him off the market, Bulpett adds. The feeling was that Riley was responding to what he viewed as inadequate trade offers.

“I really believe (the Heat) had discussions (with other teams) about Jimmy before Pat said, ‘We’re not trading Jimmy Butler.’ At the very least, they went through every single team and what was realistic — like, there’s only a handful of teams that are trying to win right now and that Jimmy would want to go to,” one executive said. “And Miami looked at everything and basically said they weren’t doing any of that crap. So Pat says they’re not trading him, and Jimmy says what he says. So maybe now Jimmy will be open to more teams that he’d be willing to go to.”

Butler has been working out at Kaseya Center with assistant coach Octavio De La Grana and two other staff members while the Heat are on a road trip, but coach Erik Spoelstra declined to comment on those proceedings before tonight’s game at Portland, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

“Of course I’ve talked to him. I’m very close to coach,” Spoelstra told reporters. “That’s between me and coach O, with all due respect.”

Trade talks regarding Butler are ongoing, but the Heat still haven’t received an offer they consider acceptable, a source tells Jackson, who adds that they remain willing to bring him back for a January 17 home game if he’s not traded by then.

Jackson also hears that Miami wouldn’t be opposed to keeping Butler on the roster for the rest of the season and dealing with the situation this summer.

Eastern Notes: Embiid, Butler, LaVine, Valanciunas

Sixers center Joel Embiid missed a third consecutive game on Friday due to a sprained left foot, but head coach Nick Nurse said the team doesn’t believe the issue will be a long-term concern, suggesting the big man could be back in action as early as Sunday, per Dan Gelston of The Associated Press.

Still, Embiid’s availability has been spotty all season. He has played in more than two consecutive games just twice, appearing in 13 total contests out of Philadelphia’s 36. The 76ers are 7-2 in the last nine games Embiid has played, but his frequent appearances on the injury report – along with a handful of other health issues affecting players up an down the roster – have hindered the club’s ability to build chemistry and momentum.

“It’s difficult with guys in and out of the lineup,” point guard Tyrese Maxey said, according to Gelston. “As soon as we get some continuity, as soon as we get flowing, guys miss (games). It’s really difficult. Guys have to kind of change their roles every single night. That puts pressure on us, man. We miss Jo, we miss Paul (George), we miss KJ (Martin). It’s hard to win in this league when you’re not healthy.”

The Sixers’ loss on Friday to a 7-31 New Orleans team missing Zion Williamson was one of their most discouraging defeats of the season. Philadelphia is now 15-21 and is two games back of the Bulls for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Here’s more from around the East:

  • After former Heat star Tim Hardaway Sr. said during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter video link) that Miami gave the NBPA a 10-page document and film to back up their assertion that Jimmy Butler engaged in conduct detrimental to the team, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets that he can’t confirm that specific claim. However, Jackson does say that the team was careful in documenting the incidents that led to the seven-game suspension, which is reportedly being challenged by the players’ union.
  • Bulls guard Zach LaVine is having one of the best seasons of his career and has been even better since the calendar flipped to January, averaging 32.8 points per game on .598/.424/.786 shooting in his first five games of 2025. It hasn’t led to any movement on the trade front though, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who checks in on where things stand with LaVine and notes that it will probably be hard for Chicago to trade the two-time All-Star until there’s more clarity on what’s happening with Butler.
  • Speaking to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, veteran center Jonas Valanciunas admitted it has been a “very tough” season in Washington, where the Wizards have an NBA-worst 6-30 record. “I want to win,” he said. “But the situation is what it is, and while I’m in it, I have to do everything I can to improve it. … Winning teams don’t become like that overnight.” Although he’s in the first season of a three-year contract, Valanciunas is considered a candidate to be dealt out of D.C. ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. He told Urbonas that he’s only focused on what he can control on the court. “The agents’, general managers’, and team presidents’ jobs are off the court,” the big man said. “I leave everything to them.”

Jimmy Butler Notes: Bucks, Trade Timeline, Riley, More

Multiple reports this week indicated that the Grizzlies and Bucks are among the teams that have been advised not to pursue a trade for Heat forward Jimmy Butler, and while Sam Amick of The Athletic has “for sure” heard that Memphis received that message, he’s less certain about what’s going on with Milwaukee.

“The Milwaukee thing, I’m admittedly a little confused by,” Amick said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back (Twitter video link). “… I was told from somebody who 100% would and should know that Jimmy’s camp had not spoken about Milwaukee and also hadn’t been asked about Milwaukee.

While the Bucks were named on Monday as one of the clubs considering the possibility of making a play for Butler, Amick is skeptical that they plan to seriously explore that idea, whether or not they’ve been warned off by the forward’s camp.

“There is chatter about the Bucks and the idea of them kicking it around. Regardless of exactly what was said, I would move off that possibility,” Amick continued. “I don’t sense a lot of eagerness from the Bucks’ side to go down that road.”

Since the Bucks are currently operating about $6.5MM above the second tax apron, they’d have to reduce their team salary by more than that amount before – or as part of – any trade for Butler in order to legally aggregate multiple player contracts for matching purposes.

Here are a few more items related to the NBA’s most prominent trade candidate:

  • Within a detailed breakdown of where things stand with Butler, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports cites league sources who believe there’s a real chance the 35-year-old could remain in Miami all season and not be traded until the summer, at which time it would be easier for the Heat to construct a deal that works for both them and their trade partner(s).
  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald takes a closer look at what the Heat’s options in the 2025 offseason would be if they were to sign-and-trade Butler or allow him to walk as a free agent.
  • Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel checks in on the latest developments related to the Butler drama, including Heat president Pat Riley talking to Dan Le Batard about critics who say he’s “washed” and Butler seemingly taking a passive-aggressive jab at Riley and the Heat in a social media video.
  • In his most recent mailbag (subscription required), Winderman considers whether it’s fair to the rest of the players on the roster for the Heat to put them in the middle of more drama by bringing Butler back at the end of his suspension instead of taking the best offer on the table at that point.
  • A recent feature from Ben Golliver of The Washington Post includes some exclusive quotes from Butler. Those quotes are about a month old, predating the developments of the past few weeks, but one comment from Butler perhaps provides some insight into why he was upset that the Heat were unwilling to offer him a maximum-salary contract extension over the summer. “I still think I’m in my prime if I’m being brutally honest,” Butler told Golliver.

Heat Rumors: Butler, Suns, Suspension, 2026, Love

Star forward Jimmy Butler has tried to apply pressure on the Heat to trade him sooner rather than later, but team sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic that Miami won’t be rushed into making a deal it doesn’t like.

According to Amick, Heat officials told players after Butler received a seven-game suspension that the “most likely next step” would be Butler rejoining the team after its lengthy road trip. The Heat viewed Butler’s behavior as “increasingly problematic,” hence the suspension, and wanted to give the two sides a break and deal with it when the club returns home next week.

Butler’s tactics have somewhat overshadowed how impactful he can be when he’s fully engaged on the court, Amick writes, and may have given potential suitors pause. While things can change quickly in the NBA, Butler’s situation may not be resolved until closer to the deadline — assuming he’s traded at all.

A “best-case scenario” for the Heat would be a team becoming desperate to turn its season around and rethinking its stance on Butler, with Amick pointing to the Warriors as one example. Miami won handily at Golden State on Tuesday sans Butler.

As Amick details, it’s clear to people around the league that Butler’s preferred landing spot is Phoenix, and the Suns have reportedly been the most aggressive team in pursuit of the 35-year-old. But Bradley Beal‘s maximum-salary contract and no-trade clause continue to hold up a possible deal.

Here are a few more rumors and notes from Miami:

  • The Heat continue to actively discuss Butler trades, but they haven’t received any enticing offers yet, and unless that changes in the next week, the plan is for Butler to rejoin the team for next Friday’s contest vs. Denver, league sources tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler continues to work out with team staffers in Miami.
  • In an interview with Dan Le Batard that was filmed weeks ago, prior to all of the Butler drama, Heat president Pat Riley said that while his approach differs from modern players, he still respects them (Twitter video link). However, he drew a distinction when it comes to honoring a contract and being a detriment to a team. “So as players, they have to render unto the Heat really what is theirs too,” Riley said as part of a larger quote (hat tip to Jackson and Chiang). “And while they go out there and they do these other things, you can’t shortcut it with us. So, I’ve actually explained this to players is that while you’re under contract to us, you do owe us something. Your Collective Bargaining Agreement contract says that, so don’t ever take that lightly. We have a very cooperative group of people. But yes, I feel like I owe and I have to render unto Micky [Arison] as my boss. I don’t do it in any other way other than with respect and I feel the same way about the players.”
  • The Heat could position themselves to have maximum-salary cap room in the 2026 offseason, depending on what happens with Butler. While maximizing cap flexibility is a priority, the team is also open to adding a player on a multiyear contract in a Butler deal as long as that player is a “genuine difference-maker,” a source tells Jackson.
  • Veteran forward/center Kevin Love will miss Thursday’s game in Utah due to personal reasons, the Heat announced. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out.

Fischer’s Latest: Butler, Grizzlies, Bucks, Suns, Beal, More

Exploring the Jimmy Butler situation in his latest Substack article for The Stein Line, Jake Fischer confirms that the Grizzlies and Bucks are among the teams that Butler’s camp has discouraged from trading for the Heat forward. Chris Haynes first reported that Memphis had been advised not to pursue Butler, while Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports later added that Milwaukee had received a similar message.

Fischer also confirms that the Suns clearly appear to be Butler’s preferred landing spot, not only because he wants to team up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker but because team owner Mat Ishbia has established himself as a free spender who would presumably give Butler the sort of contract extension he’s seeking.

If Phoenix makes a move for Butler, it would have to include Bradley Beal, but the Suns have no desire to broach the subject with Beal – who has a no-trade clause – unless they’re able to figure out a multi-team scenario that could work. Miami reportedly has no interest in taking on the well-paid veteran guard and his no-trade clause.

“You can’t bring anything to Brad unless there’s a deal on the table,” a veteran Eastern Conference executive told Fischer. “You can’t lose him until you know you’re going to move him.”

While they would like to land Butler, the Suns are also actively exploring other options on the trade market, gauging what sort of return they could acquire if they were to give up their 2031 first-round pick, which is their only tradable first-rounder, Fischer writes.

Here’s more from Fischer:

  • Although the Suns‘ decision to remove Beal from their starting lineup has been widely viewed as an attempt to encourage him to waive his no-trade clause, sources tell Fischer the team is hoping the move to the second unit will “spark more of an aggressive output” from the guard as a “microwave scorer.” Of course, there’s no reason that both explanations can’t be true.
  • The Grizzlies have made Luke Kennard, John Konchar, and draft capital available as they seek an upgrade on the trade market. But even if Butler were open to moving to Memphis, it’s unclear if the team would have an appetite for a bigger deal that would involve Marcus Smart and Brandon Clarke, according to Fischer, who hears from sources that the Grizzlies highly value both of those players.
  • The Thunder and Kings opened up roster spots on Tuesday by waiving Branden Carlson and Orlando Robinson, respectively. Those roster spots may come in handy on the trade market, but if they’re still open after the deadline, Ajay Mitchell and Isaac Jones are worth monitoring as candidates to be promoted from two-way contracts, says Fischer.

Beal’s Agent: Waiving No-Trade Clause Not Being Discussed

Suns guard Bradley Beal and his agent Mark Bartelstein haven’t had any talks about waiving Beal’s no-trade clause to approve a deal to a new team, Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“There have been no discussions about trades with the Suns or any other team,” Bartelstein said. “Bradley’s total focus is on helping the Suns turn things around.”

As we outlined on Tuesday, Beal has been at the center of trade rumors as of late due to the reported mutual interest between the Suns and Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who is seeking a trade out of Miami. Phoenix is reportedly the only team willing to pay Butler the contract he wants and is believed to be the 35-year-old’s preferred landing spot.

Due to the Suns’ position relative to the second tax apron, they’re not permitted to aggregate salaries in a trade for Butler, meaning they would have to give up one of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, or Beal, all of whom have bigger cap hits than Butler’s $48.8MM figure.

Beal is the obvious choice of that trio from the Suns’ perspective, but his no-trade clause – one of just two in the NBA – complicates matters, as does his maximum-salary contract, which the Heat are reportedly unwilling to take on.

Phoenix has reportedly explored the market in search of a third team that would take on Beal, but any facilitator would have to be well compensated and the Suns, who would also have to incentivize Miami, don’t have many draft assets available to trade.

Speaking to Windhorst, Bartelstein didn’t rule out the possibility that Beal would waive his no-trade clause for a “perfect” situation, as he did when he was sent from Washington to Phoenix in 2023. But that isn’t currently under consideration.

It’s also worth reiterating that a no-trade clause doesn’t go away after a single trade — it covers a player’s entire contract unless he agrees to surrender it. Bartelstein tells Windhorst that his client wouldn’t be willing to give up that veto power before the end of the contract.

If Beal agreed to remove the no-trade clause from his contract upon being dealt, it might make a rival team more willing to roll the dice on him, since that club would have freedom to move him in a year or two. However, as long as Beal insists on hanging onto his NTC, it will make it that much more difficult for the Suns to find a taker.

Bradley Beal Discusses Move To Bench, Trade Rumors

Coming off the bench on Monday for the first time in nearly nine years, Bradley Beal led the Suns to their first victory since Christmas Day, scoring a team-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting in 30 minutes of action vs. Philadelphia.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Beal said he doesn’t consider himself a bench player, but made it clear he doesn’t intend to make waves by pushing back against head coach Mike Budenholzer‘s decision to make lineup changes.

“I’m a starter in the league. I firmly believe that,” Beal said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “No disrespect to anybody, but I’m a starter and that’s what I firmly believe, but Coach made his decision. I’m not going to sit there and argue with him. I’m not going to sit here and be a distraction. I’m not going to sit here and be an a–hole. He made his decision. Got to live with it.”

Despite coming off the bench, Beal logged the third-most minutes among Suns players on Monday, behind only Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, which suggests that his workload may not change significantly even if he’s not one of Phoenix’s first five players on the court.

Ryan Dunn, the Suns’ talented rookie wing defender, stepped into the lineup in Beal’s place, and was lauded by his veteran teammate for how he handled the promotion, notes Rankin (Twitter video link).

“My first thought process was him,” Beal said. “He’s thrown in the fire and the mix of everything. He doesn’t really get to enjoy starting as a young rookie in the league. That’s big. Everybody is so caught up in my s–t and whatever is going on (with me). … I told him before the game, ‘Just lock in. Just be you. Keep playing the way you’ve been playing. You ain’t doing nothing wrong. Stay locked in and be you.’ And he did that and I’m so proud of him.”

Beal’s comment about the media focusing on “my s–t and whatever is going on” with him was presumably a reference not only to the fact that he came off the bench for the first time since March of 2016, but also to the trade rumors swirling around him.

Reports have continually linked Heat forward Jimmy Butler to the Suns, with Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link) citing executives who say that Butler’s camp has been strongly signaling that Phoenix is his “one desired destination.” Beal would almost certainly have to be included in any deal for Butler due to the Suns’ second-apron restrictions. Crucially, he’d also have to approve the deal, since he holds a no-trade clause.

“(The Suns) absolutely are trying to trade Bradley Beal,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a First Take appearance on Tuesday (YouTube link). “… So they put him on the bench. Now you may say, ‘Why would you do that? If you’re trying to trade a player, why would you put him on the bench?’ And that’s because…the only way they can trade him is if he says, ‘I’m OK to be traded.’ So instead of trying to build him up, they have to violate the cardinal rule (of boosting a player’s trade value) and put him on the bench.

“Now I know that there were schematic reasons why they did it, and Mike Budenholzer tried to explain. But they’re basically trying to make him feel unwelcome in Phoenix so that he will waive that no-trade clause.”

While there’s a belief that Beal would sign off on a trade to Miami, the Heat reportedly have no interest in acquiring him due to his no-trade clause and the two years and $111MM left on his deal beyond this season. That means if the Suns want to land Butler, they’ll have to find a third team willing to take on Beal and his massive contract.

Asked after Monday’s game if he believes the demotion to the bench is related to a potential trade, Beal reminded reporters that he’ll have a say in that process.

“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” Beal said, according to Rankin. “Until I’m addressed and somebody says something different, then I’ll be a Sun.”