On Dec. 11, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Phoenix Suns have emerged as another team that could trade for All-Star forward Jimmy Butler. Former NBA player DeMarcus Cousins stated that it makes more sense for the Suns to have the Miami Heat star as their third choice, despite Butler’s agent disputing the veracity of the news.
Currently, the Suns have Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal at the core of their team. However, even with three premiere scorers, the Suns have not dominated in the league. With the rumors linking Butler and Phoenix, the question of which player the team could trade for the Heat star came up.
Former NBA player Lou Williams asked Cousins on Wednesday’s “Run It Back” if it would be a good move for the Suns to trade Beal in exchange for Butler.
“No disrespect to Beal,” Cousins said. “It’s just not a good fit with what you got going on with D-Book and Kevin Durant — it never made sense. It got a little better with them adding the point guard in the mix, but it still just doesn’t make sense.”
“You add a guy like Jimmy Butler that can play both sides of the ball give you 15 to 20 points on a nightly basis and guard the best player, that’s a better fit next to a Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.”
@boogiecousins thinks it’s obvious; the Suns should’ve already swapped Bradley Beal for Jimmy Butler 👀 pic.twitter.com/1YOBVFvuDa
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 18, 2024
Cousins cited the fact that Butler doesn’t need the ball to be effective on the floor, unlike Beal.
“That’s who Jimmy is. If you looked at him early in his career, that’s exactly who he was in Chicago. Him going back to that role, I think they’re a 10.”
This season, Butler has averaged 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Heat.
While Cousins believes trading Beal to the Heat would be beneficial for the Phoenix Suns, it won’t be easy. The three-time All-Star has a no-trade clause, which means he can veto trades.
How has Beal played for the Phoenix Suns?
Beal is in his second season with the Phoenix Suns. While he started strong, he hasn’t been consistent with his play due to various injuries. The 6-foot-3 star has played 15 games this season, averaging 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. His numbers this season are slightly worse than what he had last season.
In his first campaign in Phoenix, he played 53 games and was mostly out due to injuries. He averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
