Charania has added that the Phoenix Suns are one of the teams on Butler’s ideal landing spots list. Making a trade for Butler would be even trickier for the Suns because it would require one of their expensive contracts, like Bradley Beal’s.
The Heat likely don’t want Beal’s salary on their books, so that’s where the Sixers could potentially come in. The following trade between the Heat, Sixers, and Suns could solve the Butler situation.
Heat get: Paul George
Suns get: Jimmy Butler
Sixers get: Bradley Beal
The Heat and Sixers would also have to send some contracts elsewhere, but that wouldn’t be too difficult because the teams would only have to reduce their payroll by a couple hundred thousand dollars to execute the trade.
Beal would give the Sixers more ball-handling and floor-spacing to a team that definitely needs just that. It’d be hard to see the Sixers go after him unless they are desperate to improve and believe George isn’t helping. There’s another factor here.
Bradley Beal would also have to agree to a trade
As part of his contract, Beal has a no-trade clause, meaning he has to sign off on where he goes before a trade could happen. That could be a problem, but he might find some appeal in joining the Sixers, a playoff contender trying to make the NBA Finals for the first time since 2001.
Beal’s expensive contract would definitely repel anyone in trade discussions, but there’s an argument to be made that he would fit the Sixers like a glove.