Grade the Source: Suns have extra incentive to pull out all the stops for Jimmy Butler

The Phoenix Suns want Jimmy Butler, and Jimmy Butler wants the Phoenix Suns. This is no secret, and it will be the dominant storyline ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.

Butler is currently serving a seven-game suspension in Miami, but he's expected back on the court before he gets traded. Or if he gets traded. We can therefore expect more theatrics from the All-Star wing, who has been steadily ramping up his thinly veiled shots at Heat president Pat Riley.

It's clear the relationship is beyond repair. Butler, once the epitome of 'Heat Culture,' has now become its staunch opponent. He wants more freedom, less hassle, and above all else, a cushy contract extension. Right now, the Suns appear to be the only team prepared to hand out the two-year, $113 million-plus extension Butler is eligible for.

That said, the logistics of a Suns-Butler trade are challenging. It will have to involve Bradley Beal, whose contract is borderline untradable. More troublesome is Beal's no-trade clause, which means a team needs to agree to trade for Beal and Beal needs to agree to join that team. There won't be any salary-dumping in Washington or Brooklyn. Beal wants to contend. It's why he left DC in the first place.

That said, the Suns have an obvious incentive to figure out a path to Butler. For starters, he's meaningfully better than Beal. And, according to ESPN's Kendrick Perkins, adding Butler could help Phoenix keep its core together beyond 2024-25.

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Kevin Durant will allegedly sign an extension if the Suns trade for Jimmy Butler

Butler, who has a $52 million player option on his contract for next season, is expected to opt out and enter free agency if he's anywhere except Phoenix. Kevin Durant, meanwhile, is in the penultimate year of his contract, which means extension talks are around the corner. Few superstars have been more involved in trade rumors over the last few years than Durant, who tends to get restless even under the most ideal circumstances.

If the Suns can trade for and extend Butler, however, that might encourage Durant to put pen to paper on a long-term extension. At least, that is what Big Perk is reporting. Let's not confuse Kendrick Perkins with Shams Charania, but he's a former teammate of Durant and there's no doubt that he has contacts around the league.

Does Perkins have the contacts necessary to report on these subjects so assuredly — especially when other, more seasoned reporters haven't confirmed Perk's tidbit? That much is unclear.

It certainly sounds believable, though. The Suns are two games below .500 and 12th place in the West. Durant can't be thrilled to spend the waning years of his historic career on a medicore team. One can argue that the Suns are better off rebuilding, but with zero financial flexibility or trade ammo to speak of, finding a way to flip Bradley Beal into Jimmy Butler would be a tremendous boon. The Suns could use another high-level defender on the perimeter, not to mention Butler's reputation for clutch heroics and postseason ascents. If it helps them keep Durant, and thus stay relevant, even better.

This is an undeniably risky gambit for the Suns, no matter what. Durant is prone to changing his mind on a situation, as is Butler, for that matter. If Phoenix sticks around .500 and gets blasted in the Play-In Tournament, who's to say Butler won't decide to opt out and leave anyway. Durant has experience when it comes to forcing trades, too.

Phoenix is walking a tightrope, trying to salvage a roster destined for disappointment. Butler helps, but does he help enough to steer the Titanic away from the iceberg? Maybe, but probably not.

Grade the Source: B