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As Jimmy Butler saga continues, what does Suns’ move mean for the Heat and a potential trade?

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) sits on the bench motionless as teammates celebrate around him during the second half of an NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Kaseya Center on January 21, 2025, in Miami.

The Jimmy Butler saga continues, but it appeared to move a little closer to a resolution on Tuesday.

Just before the start of Tuesday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers at Kaseya Center, news surfaced that indicated the Phoenix Suns are stocking up for a potential Butler trade.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported about 30 minutes before tipoff between the Heat and Trail Blazers that the Suns traded their 2031 unprotected first-round pick to the Utah Jazz for three first-round selections. As part of the deal, the Suns acquired the least favorable of the first-round picks between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves this year, and the least favorable first-round picks of the Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Jazz in 2027 and 2029.

While a Butler trade was not imminent as of Tuesday night, a league source close to the situation expressed confidence that the Suns’ decision to deal for additional draft capital was an important step toward Phoenix trading for Butler.

Then on Wednesday, the Heat suspended Butler for the second time this month. After Butler served a team-issued seven-game suspension earlier this month, the Heat suspending Butler for two games without pay after he missed the Heat’s flight to Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon, league sources confirmed to the Miami Herald.

Butler was planning to fly separately on Wednesday to meet the Heat in Milwaukee ahead of Thursday’s game against the Bucks at Fiserv Forum (7:30 p.m., TNT). But the Heat instead suspended Butler for two games.

Butler, who requested a trade from the Heat earlier this month, has the Suns among his preferred trade destinations, according to league sources. Butler’s decision to wear sneakers with the Suns colorway in the Heat’s bad 116-107 home loss to a struggling Trail Blazers team on Tuesday, which dropped Miami back to .500 at 21-21 for this season, is seemingly confirmation of that.

With Tuesday marking Butler’s third game back from his team-issued suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season,” he was in his usual starting spot and finished the loss to the Trail Blazers with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 shooting on threes, 4-of-4 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds and eight assists in 27 minutes. Butler declined to speak to the media after the game.

Butler, 35, averaged 13 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field in those three games since returning from his first suspension. The Heat, which went 1-2 in those games, has been outscored by 6.8 per 100 possessions with Butler on the court during that span.

“I know what you’re trying to get out of me,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Butler’s relatively underwhelming effort in Tuesday’s loss to the Trail Blazers. “You’re not going to get anything worthwhile. It was not a very inspiring first three quarters by the whole group. So it’s tough to pinpoint one person in that.”

Jimmy Butler again suspended by Heat for ‘disregard of team rules’ after missing team flight

Why does the Suns’ trade with the Jazz make a Butler trade to Phoenix more likely ahead of the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline?

Before Tuesday’s deal, the Suns had just one tradeable first-round pick at their disposal. After this trade, the Suns now have three tradeable first-round selections.

Yes, the three picks that the Suns acquired from the Jazz will likely each be at the bottom of the first round since they are the least favorable selections between multiple teams.

But simply acquiring a first-round selection — wherever it lands — helps the Heat because it would unlock additional tradeable picks.

With NBA rules preventing teams from trading future first-round picks in consecutive years, the Heat currently has just one unprotected first-round selection (2030 or 2031) that it can deal away.

That’s because the Heat owes a lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder that would turn into an unprotected 2026 first-round selection if it’s not conveyed in 2025.

The Heat’s other picks it would otherwise be able to trade are unavailable because of the deal it made to acquire Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets in late January last season.

To add Rozier, the Heat traded Kyle Lowry and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick to the Hornets that would turn into an unprotected 2028 first-round selection if it’s not conveyed in 2027.

However, hypothetically acquiring the Suns’ 2027 and 2029 first-round picks that Phoenix just received from Utah would free the Heat to trade first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 this upcoming summer (if the protections on the 2027 pick owed to the Hornets are lifted and the Heat makes the playoffs this season to convey the 2025 selection to the Thunder). NBA teams are only allowed to trade picks up to seven drafts into the future

But the challenge in sending Butler to Phoenix is that Suns guard Bradley Beal would very likely need to be involved in that deal to make the salary-cap math work.

The Heat is not interested in acquiring Beal’s no-trade clause, meaning the Suns need to find a third team to take Beal, and Beal would need to approve of being dealt to that team while the Heat also gets assets in return that it’s interested in as part of the trade.

In large part because of the Beal factor, any Butler trade with the Suns is expected to be complicated, featuring at least three and possibly even more teams involved to help facilitate a deal. According to a league source, the Milwaukee Bucks are a team worth monitoring as a potential partner in such a trade with the Heat and Suns.

The Athletic reported Tuesday that there have still been no talks between the Suns and Beal about the prospect of him waiving his no-trade clause.

In meetings with Heat president Pat Riley, owner Micky Arison and chief executive officer Nick Arison this month, Butler has remained adamant about his desire to be traded out of Miami.

The Heat continues to have discussions with teams in hopes of moving Butler and finding a resolution to this ugly situation ahead of next month’s NBA trade deadline.

According to multiple sources, Butler has been disappointed with the Heat primarily because Miami declined to give him a two-year, $113 million contract extension this past summer, a deal that would have run through the 2026-27 season. Butler was open to signing such a deal early in the negotiating window, but his mind-set changed when the extension wasn’t immediately offered by the Heat.

Butler, a six-time NBA All-Star, is on a $48.8 million salary this season. He can become a free agent this upcoming summer, with a $52.4 million player option in his contract for next season.

Despite what appears to be the inevitable messy ending to their relationship, Butler has already established himself as one of the greatest players in Heat history.

Butler, who is in the middle of his sixth season with the franchise, helped lead the Heat to three Eastern Conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances since joining the team during the 2019 offseason. He has been selected for two NBA All-Star Games and made an All-NBA team three times during his first five seasons with the Heat.

“I’m really emphasizing to the young guys to really be professional in this league,” Heat center and captain Bam Adebayo said of dealing with the uncertainty and speculation surrounding the Butler situation. “But like I said before, we still have to play games. So, we have to lock into something. That’s what I’ve been honing in, locking into the games so we don’t have to necessarily deal with more outside noise than we already have.”