Phoenix Suns’ Butler trade deadline heartbreak, while Brian Windhorst reveals failed deal for new Kings acquisition

The Phoenix Suns are expected to stand pat through the NBA trade deadline after missing out on dream target Jimmy Butler.

The Jimmy Butler trade saga finally ended with a twist last night.

The Phoenix Suns didnt land the disgruntled Miami Heat forward as widely expected, but the Golden State Warriors did.

The Warriors constructed a multi-team deal that saw them send players to the Heat (Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson), Detroit Pistons (Lindy Waters III), and Utah Jazz (Dennis Schroder).

The Suns were entirely left out of the deal, presumably failing to find a trade suitor for Bradley Beal.

The Warriors and the Heat were reportedly in advanced talks to land Kevin Durant before the Suns ended conversations around the star forward.

With Butler in Golden State, no deal on the market for Beal, and the decision to retain Durant , the Suns are expected to not be active through the final day of the NBA trade deadline.

Suns hoping for an internal improvement With many of the presumed players on the market off the board, the Suns are in a sticky situation.

They were focused on acquiring Butler and now dont have enough time to pivot.

Chris Haynes revealed that the Suns wont be canvassing the market for upgrades now and will hope for an internal improvement.

Multiple obstacles in the way to make a drastic change at the deadline, Phoenix Suns were always prepared to venture into the second half of the season with the core roster in place.

With futures no longer in doubt for the time being, the internal hope is improved play.

Multiple obstacles in the way to make a drastic change at the deadline, Phoenix Suns were always prepared to venture into second half of season with the core roster in place.

With futures no longer in doubt for time being, the internal hope is improved play.

The Suns had a very challenging task ahead of them.

The second apron restricts teams from trading players as freely as they can.

The Suns have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and were locked into the apron, preventing them from accepting even an extra dollar or aggregating contracts in a deal.

Bradley Beal has a no-trade clause which further complicated matters.

The team has no control over Beals decision.

If they fail to find him an acceptable future team, hes well within his rights to decline a trade.

Its unclear if a trade was ever officially presented to him, but its safe to say he isnt expected to switch teams at this point.

The fact that they held conversations with interested teams for Kevin Durant tells you all you need to know.

While the Suns are expected to finish their season with the current roster, it isnt for a lack of trying.

A failed center acquisition adds to the blow The Suns have had problems with their center rotation this season.

After Jusuf Nurkic was dropped out of the rotation, the team acquired Nick Richards.

While Richards has thrived, the team has a mishmash of backups that dont fit the team.

They tried to add an offensive alternate to Richards in the trade market.

The Suns were in conversations for Washington Wizards center Jonas Valancuinas but failed to get the deal done before the Lithuanian center was sent to the Sacramento Kings, according to Brian Windhorst.

Its not going great for the Suns.

Theyre having a rough day.

They were also in conversations to acquire Jonas Valacuinas but the Wizards moved on.

They tried for weeks to trade Bradley Beal but they just couldnt get business done.

The team could still consider trading Nurkic.

They have three tradeable first-round picks right now, so they could find value for Nurkics $19.1 million contract.

However, it wont be easy considering the deal extends to 2026.

Unless Nurkic is traded, there genuinely seems to be no potential moves the Suns could explore at this point.

While the trade market is always full of surprises, the Suns might not have another rabbit in the hat.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission..

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