Suns reportedly are avoiding Jimmy Butler debacle by pivoting targets | Sporting News

Ever since Jimmy Butler made it clear that he wanted to be traded from the Miami Heat, the Phoenix Suns have been the assumed landing spot for the six-time All-Star.

However, in order for the Suns to add Butlers massive salary, they will have to trade Bradley Beal.

As if Beals $50.2 million salary wasnt hard enough to move already, he and LeBron James are the only two players in the NBA who have a no-trade clause, so the Suns need him to sign off on any deal before they can pull the trigger.

So far, Beal has been unwilling to cooperate, and the Suns are rumored to be changing tactics and are seeking a cheaper wing who could thrive next to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic has emerged as a target for the Suns ahead of the trade deadline, league sources told ClutchPoints, reported Brett Seigel on Thursday.

However, the Suns are a second-apron team, and any move, even one without Beal, would be tricky to navigate.

Siegel seems to think a third team would be required to take on Jusuf Nurkics salary in a deal with Atlanta, but Forbes Evan Sidery reported that the Hawks, as well as the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors, are interested in the Bosnian center.

Nurkic has missed the last 11 games as the Suns openly try and find a trade partner willing to take him on in the midst of the worst season of his career.

Fortunately for Phoenix, Bogdanovic makes $900k less than Nurkic this season, so the two can be traded for one another.

However, in order to convince the Hawks to take on Nurkic for a quality starter, Phoenix would have to add at least one of the three draft picks they acquired from the Utah Jazz last week.

If the Suns do move one (or more) of those picks, a deal for Butler would be made even more unlikely, although at this point adding Bogdanovic is clearly better than adding no one before the Feb.

6 trade deadline.

More NBA: NBA mock trade would add high-level scorer next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis.

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