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Jimmy Butler trade rumors continue to dominate NBA discussions leading up to the Feb. 6 deadline, and the Miami Heat player added another layer to those conversations on Tuesday.
That's because he happened to be wearing shoes in Phoenix Suns colors for his team's game against the Portland Trail Blazers:
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Butler was consistently linked to the Suns during said trade discussions.
“Jimmy's No. 1 focus changes, preferably, to the Phoenix Suns. Everything else is secondary,” ESPN's Brian Windhorst said at the 34:50 mark of his Monday episode Hoop Collective podcast. “Not getting traded to 'Team X,' not getting traded to 'Team Y,' getting traded to the Phoenix Suns.
“And so all you want to bring is rationally, if it doesn't mean you're going to be traded to the Suns, Jimmy's not going to be interested in that right now. That's one thing you have to remember from all of this. And that's the way he works. The other thing is what (ESPN's Tim Bontemps) has also been saying is that Butler's best move is to just focus on the game until after the trade deadline and that's one of the things that's on their mind.”
Phoenix certainly turned heads on Tuesday as well when it traded its unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
This is an aggressive move for Phoenix and unlocks the franchise's next six draft picks — and most importantly, breaks up their lone trade pick in 2031 into three future picks. The Suns have now tripled their first rounders. https://t.co/kd8gmaegTi
This naturally led to speculation about Butler:
Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
From here, when it comes to Butler (whose projected landing spot remains Phoenix), keep an eye on the Bucks, and possibly the Raptors. https://t.co/WVtPvwG4FU
As for Butler himself, Charania reported Tuesday that he “tripled his trade request. He did it to Pat Riley's face, and last week he did it to Micky Arison, the team's owner and CEO. I'm told the Heat have had some productive conversations about a potential Butler trade this week.”
It looks like things could end up building towards a potential trade involving the Suns.
If he does, Butler at least has the shoes to do it.
