Fans and the league are curiously monitoring the Jimmy Butler saga. Shams Charania has a feeling it could continue to get “ugly” as the franchise suspended him once again. However, what looks imminent is Butler will soon be a member of the Phoenix Suns. They made a trade to get the necessary draft capital to facilitate a potential multi-team trade. However, what if Pat Riley, a stern disciplinarian by nature hits back at Butler for his antics?

Recently, ESPN came out with a report of the various teams that are desperate to have some movement within their roster. Among them, the Memphis Grizzlies emerged as a surprise. And they have reportedly been in contact with the Heat to potentially trade for Butler. The report reads “Rival league executives believe Memphis is trying to combine a talent influx with offloading some future salary so it can facilitate a contract extension for Jaren Jackson Jr. as early as this summer”.

Their motive isn’t similar to the Suns, who may look at Butler as a potential long-term target However, with the Heat star having a $52 million player option for next season, the Grizzlies view the veteran as a one-season candidate. They aim to leverage his postseason vigor as they look to regain success as the current third seed in the West. In the event that Butler rejects his player option, that would free up ample cap space for the Grizzlies to extend Jaren Jackson Jr. who has become their mainstay forward.

Jimmy Butler may not be someone interested in going to Memphis. However, from Riley’s perspective, the former Bulls guard has been disruptive in trying to force a trade. With him not having a no-trade clause, nothing stops Riley from getting some vengeance. Additionally, the Heat will also receive great assets that could include Marcus Smart and Brandon Clarke, both of whom hold the potential to improve the Heat’s roster depth.

What this does it see the Heat emerge as the winners and get out of a troubling stalemate with Jimmy Butler. At the same time, the Suns who are competitors to the Grizzlies get stranded. However, they seem to have a backup plan.

The Phoenix Suns could get a Bradley Beal swap done

With the Jimmy Butler trade, the Suns had to face an inconvenient roadblock. The Heat didn’t want to absorb Beal’s lofty contract. Hence, it began the cycle of finding multiple partners to even make a trade of such magnitude possible. However, in the event that the Heat reject their proposals or the Grizzlies snatch Butler, there is a contingency in place.

According to Jake Fischer, the Suns could eye Zach Lavine in a potential swap deal for Bradley Beal. He wrote, “Sources say Phoenix, to name one example, could emerge with interest in exploring a swap of Bradley Beal for LaVine, sources said, depending on how the rest of the trade landscape develops in the coming weeks”.

Lavine, who the Bulls have reportedly looked to offload since the season began does have a large contract. But in comparison to Beal, his $43 million contract is less of a hit. In addition, he is a young and athletic wing scorer who has regained his scoring prowess as the season has progressed. The athletic guard is averaging 24 points on a career-high 45% from three.

Another positive about him is his ability to stay healthy and produce while playing besides volume scorers. In the Bulls, he shared the stage with Coby White and Nikola Vucevic without his production waning greatly. The defect though comes with his defensive woes. That’s still an area of his game that requires attention.

However, having a younger and dynamic guard on a lesser salary could be appealing to the Suns in the event Butler is unavailable. Do you think this is a swap they should consider? Let us know your views in the comments below.