Suns might deploy the ultimate galaxy-brain strategy to land Jimmy Butler

The Phoenix Suns sure are a real NBA organization.

Mat Ishbia's arrival has brought an impressively committed approach to winning. Has it been the right approach? Maybe not. A bit rash, perhaps. Phoenix has essentially mortgaged all future assets on a core that currently places 10th in the Western Conference. A recent trade creatively opened up a bit more trade flexibility, but the Suns are cash-strapped and light on assets.

That makes their dogged pursuit of Miami Heat malcontent Jimmy Butler one of the more fascinating storylines ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline. Butler has made it clear he wants Phoenix and only Phoenix, but the Suns' only path to acquiring Butler involves trading Bradley Beal, who has one of two no-trade clauses in the league right now.

Beal doesn't seem willing to play ball, so the Suns are out of luck. That is, unless James Jones and the front office throw us a curveball. I said trading Beal is the only path to landing Butler, but that isn't exactly true. That is the only logical path to getting Butler to the desert. The Suns could, in theory, deploy a far more dramatic and ridiculous strategy to attain the six-time All-Star.

Apparently, Phoenix could trade Kevin Durant in an effort to acquire Butler, because... why the heck not, at this point?

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Suns might trade Kevin Durant and add Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline

The Suns are bound to strike out on the Bradley Beal angle. In the meantime, Kevin Durant trade rumors are beginning to percolate, with the Golden State Warriors prominently linked to their former two-time champ.

One might imagine that Phoenix would trade Durant in order to rebuild (or at least to retool), endeavoring to create more long-term flexibility while admitting defeat on this current roster experiment.

According to Sam Amick, David Aldridge, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, however, Phoenix could move Durant in an effort to generate the necessary capital to trade for Butler.

"With Butler continuing to angle his way toward the Suns, Phoenix might need to move Durant for the kind of returns that allows it to enhance its offer to Miami," they write. "As of now, league sources say the Suns’ messaging about their willingness to trade Durant is different depending on the team."

That is an utterly absurd statement. Butler is awesome, but isn't the whole point to put him next to Durant and Devin Booker? Make no mistake about it, replacing Durant with Butler is a consequential downgrade. The Suns could, in theory, add a bit more depth and flexibility on top of Butler, but that is bound to be a fruitless venture. Phoenix would still need to extend Butler on a max contract, leaving the Suns with three weighty salaries spread between three "stars," one of them being the recently demoted sixth man Beal. The Suns don't get much younger, the Suns don't get out of cap hell, and somehow Phoenix gets worse. The point... remains to be seen.

It's hard to imagine this actually happening, but after the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade, who knows. The NBA is broken and all gloves are off. If Phoenix has somehow convinced itself that Butler is more valuable than Durant, or that swapping Durant for Butler allows them to construct a more balanced roster, so be it. We cannot rule it out.

That said, if Pat Riley turns a malcontent Jimmy Butler into Kevin Durant, we might need to launch an investigation into what alien virus has infected NBA GMs.