“We’re a long ways away from where we need to be.”
That was coach Mike Budenholzer’s telling assessment of the Phoenix Suns, who fell to 14-14 after an ugly 27-point loss to Denver Monday night. To get where Phoenix needs to be is going to require more than just getting healthy — although that would help — or a change in coaching strategy, the Suns need a roster shake-up, particularly to bring in more defense. With that, the team is testing the waters of a Jusuf Nurkic trade, and has had talks about a Jimmy Butler trade centered around Bradley Beal, reports Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
The Phoenix Suns have been actively looking to trade starting center Jusuf Nurkic, league sources informed The Arizona Republic. The Suns (14-14) are seeking a big in return, the sources said…
As for Bradley Beal, sources informed The Republic there still are conversations about a deal with the Miami Heat involving Jimmy Butler.
Previous reports have said the Suns have a genuine interest in a Butler trade, but any conversation about that deal has to start with one simple question: Does Bradley Beal want to be traded to Miami? Beal has a no-trade clause and, thanks to that, can shoot down any deal. Even if Beal is open to a trade, the next question becomes, do the Heat want to give up Butler — who has a player option for next season — for Beal, a lesser player with two years and $100.8 million guaranteed left on his contract (the final year is a player option, it’s hard to imagine him turning that down).
Beal has said nobody from Suns’ management has spoken to him about
A Suns’ trade of Nurkic likely would be an effort to improve the team’s 26th-ranked defense. However, many of the bigs on the market — such as the Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas and Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic — would help more on the offensive end than on defense.
It will be difficult for the Suns to put any trade together because the team is over the second apron of the luxury tax — they can’t take back $1 more than they send out, nor can they aggregate two players in a trade (it would have to be Nurkic or Beal straight up going out, not paired with another player). The Suns also can’t throw any cash into a deal. While a trade could be put together (Nurkic and a second-round pick for Valanciunas and Sadiq Bey works under the cap), finding one that satisfies both sides will be difficult.
However, the Suns realize they need to do something.
