In making a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, the Phoenix Suns could kill two birds with one stone ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline.
Hawks Trade Exception May Lead To Bradley Beal Acquisition
Neither team is supposed to be in the position they’re in.
As it currently stands, the Hawks and Suns are on totally different sides of the fence. While they shipped All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta has a 19-18 record, putting them seventh in the East. Conversely, despite vocalizing their commitment to their Big 3 last offseason, Phoenix is 16-19; 12th in the West.
There may be a rare win-win scenario that could help both teams though.
Absorbing Jusuf Nurkic’s Salary
Amid the Suns’ decision to bring Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic off the bench, both players appear to be expendable.
In fact, Beal is a player whom Phoenix likely would include in a deal for Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. Nurkic, similar to predecessor Deandre Ayton, has been generally underwhelming. However, it’s worth noting that neither player has really gotten to play their game in the valley.
With that being said, as Phoenix is a second apron team, they’re handicapped in terms of the transactions they can make. For that reason, the Suns should be thanking their lucky stars that the Hawks received a $25.3 million trade exception from the Murray trade because they’re able to completely absorb Nurkic’s $18.1 million salary in it. The only other team with a trade exception large enough to do that is the Brooklyn Nets, who might only make that move if Phoenix was offering draft compensation.
One Man’s Trash…
Now, even if the Suns are able to get below the second apron by offloading Nurkic, they run into a problem. They can’t get Butler just by offering Beal because the Heat don’t want him.
Fortunately for Phoenix, Atlanta just might. Unless they want to enter a complete rebuild by trading away All-Star guard Trae Young, they need to continue adding to their talent base. More to the point, they need to give Young another established star to play alongside.
Jalen Johnson is on the brink of All-Star status and may very well be the future of the franchise. However, teams aren’t going to put their best backcourt defender on Johnson. Obviously, this makes the floor general’s job a little more difficult than it already is. By trading for a guard of Beal’s caliber, they’ll make Young and his teammates more difficult to defend, because opponents will have to pick their poison.
Do they want Young, Johnson, or Beal to take the shot?
Making The Heat Happy
The question for the Hawks is whether they would be willing to trade some combination of De’Andre Hunter, Clint Capela, and Bogdan Bogdanovic to acquire Beal. Yet, Atlanta has been rumored to be looking for a trade partner for Capela –who has an expiring $22.3 million contract –and Hunter for years. Thus, the answer could realistically be a yes.
If so, the Heat just have to decide whether they want Hunter or Bogdanovic.
In Hunter, they have a combo forward who can score and defend at a high level. In a nutshell, he’s a player who could replace Butler. With Bogdanovic, they’d have a three-point specialist with playmaking upside. His production has been somewhat muted this season because he’s been in and out of the lineup with injuries. However, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is well aware of what he’s capable of after the Paris Olympics.
As long as Miami received cap relief, draft compensation, and a starting-caliber player though, they should be happy. The alternative appears to be losing Butler for nothing. This after he brings toxic energy into the workplace for a few more months.
