NBA Insider Proposes Wild 5-TEAM Blockbuster to Get Butler to Phoenix

The Jimmy Butler trade drama is reaching new heights, as the latest proposed blockbuster would see a FIVE-TEAM deal involving the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, and Detroit Pistons.

This wild proposition is brought to us by Kevin O'Connor on The KOC Show podcast:

If Jimmy Butler is gonna end up in Phoenix this is a 5-way deal I like:

Suns get Butler

Bulls get Beal and picks

Bucks get LaVine

Heat get Middleton, Connaughton, picks

Pistons get Portis

Something along these lines makes sense for everyone involved. https://t.co/URXVliUGrq pic.twitter.com/NHMSzWwiN9
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 24, 2025

Suns get Jimmy Butler
Bulls get Bradley Beal and picks
Bucks get Zack LaVine
Heat get Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton, picks
Pistons get Bobby Portis

O'Connor says the money works all around, and that it should make all the teams happy.

"A deal like that just feels like it makes sense for everybody:

"The Heat get rid of Butler, the Bucks upgrade from Middleton with his bad ankle for LaVine, the Pistons get a versatile center for their frontcourt rotation in Portis... I think the Suns are there! I really do when you're connecting all the dots."

The one part we don’t know about is whether Beal would okay his end of the deal, as he has a full no-trade clause and would have to agree to waive it. His $50M salary moving is the only way a deal like this could get done.

A lot of moving parts in this hypothetical blockbuster, so it won’t happen overnight, but we’ll keep an eye on it. In the meantime, Butler is sitting out his second suspension for Miami and won’t play in tomorrow’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.