Jimmy Butler

01/20/2025 01:23 PM

There's only one thing more exciting than NBA basketball: NBA trades.  

As the Association’s Feb. 6 trade deadline looms, it's time to review and dissect the most significant chatter regarding transactions both north of the border and league-wide. 

Not all rumours are bound to come true, but where’s there smoke, there’s often fire. Case in point: Last year’s reports tying Buddy Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers and P.J. Washington to the Dallas Mavericks ultimately came to fruition.  

The prediction that the Toronto Raptors' Bruce Brown would be moved prior to the 2023-24 deadline, however, did not. As we enter the thick of a new trade season, his name is starting to make the rounds again. According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, Brown is once again "regarded league-wide as the most likely Raptor to be traded." 

Toronto received Brown along with Jordan Nwora (playing in the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi), Kira Lewis Jr. (playing in the G League) and three first-round picks as part of the return for Pascal Siakam in January 2024. The 28-year-old wing then underwent off-season knee surgery and missed the first two months of this season. Over nine games since his return, Brown is averaging 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists — well short of the 11.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists he posted during his peak with the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets.  

While Brown's proficiency as a small-ball screener and cutter have worked well to accentuate the strengths of competitive teams in the past, his declining defence (he has fifth and sixth percentile defensive on/off ratings over the last two seasons, respectively) and consistently below-average three-point shooting leave little to be desired for contenders. In a direct deal, Toronto should get a good second-round pick for Brown, but the first they sought last deadline is improbable.  

The best way for the Raptors to receive a strong return — be it for Brown or one of their other expiring contracts — is for them to help facilitate a larger deal. 

Could the Raptors play a part in the Butler saga?

According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, the Raptors are willing to use their flexibility to act as the third or fourth team in a Jimmy Butler deal. In this scenario, Toronto would net some assets for doing their part in making the trade work. It stands to reason that if the Raptors are willing to do this for a Butler deal, they would also be willing to do so for a similar trade involving another star. 

Among potential star trade candidates, Butler is the closest there is to a sure thing. It's hard to picture the disgruntled former All-Star remaining with the Miami Heat considering the level of animosity between him and the organization. Making a deal to his preferred destination fit within the confines of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement is where it gets murky.  

Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported on Jan. 7 that the Phoenix Suns are the "only team" willing to give Butler the max extension he's looking for. Butler has also apparently made it obvious that Phoenix is his top choice, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.  

While both the team and player seem interested, this idea falls apart quickly on paper due to the Suns' status as a second-apron team and their lack of available draft picks to include in trades. Teams in this tier are unable to aggregate multiple players to match salaries, on top of already being unable to send out more salary than they receive. This means Bradley Beal would have to be included for the math to work. The problems are that the Heat reportedly aren't interested in Beal and the Suns guard is also resistant to waiving his no-trade clause. On top of that, Phoenix has only a single first-round draft pick to offer, coming in 2031.  

Butler's list of preferred destinations also includes the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, ESPN insider Shams Charania reported on Dec. 11. Others such as the Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets could potentially be in the mix as well. None of these teams are past the dreaded second-apron threshold but the Nuggets are in the first apron and the Mavericks and Warriors are on the brink. 

These restrictions create multiple possibilities outside of a Heat-Suns trade where additional teams could be required for a Butler trade to work. There is also potential for multi-team trades involving other stars.  

This is one of the areas where the Raptors' abundance of expiring contracts and ample room under the tax line puts them in a strong position to be opportunistic at the deadline. Another option would be for Toronto to "rent out" cap space by taking on a bad contract in order to acquire assets in return for the favour. Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti successfully stockpiled picks by using this method in the past. Brown ($23 million), Chris Boucher ($10.8 million) and Davion Mitchell ($6.5 million) are all on expiring contracts. 

When it comes to possible returns for available Raptors, Boucher may have upped his price tag in recent weeks. HoopsHypes' Michael Scotto shared Friday on Sportsnet's The Raptors Show that multiple teams have inquired with the Raptors about the Montreal, Que., native.  

Adam Laskaris of DailyHive reported on Jan. 13 that multiple teams had scouts in attendance as the Raptors hosted the Golden State Warriors. This came amid a sensational run of play where Boucher shot 25-of-33 from the floor (76 per cent), 14-of-20 from three (70 per cent) and broke the Raptors record for best true shooting percentage over a four-game span at 95.9 per cent (Matt Bonner set the previous record of 93.8 per cent in March 2005). Boucher has "fans in the Denver Nuggets organization" according to SNY's Ian Begley.  Like Brown, Boucher was also rumoured to be available at last season's deadline.  

As far as the Raptors' starting big man Jakob Poeltl is concerned, Stein initially reported that Toronto "resisted mounting trade interest." The longtime NBA insider then joined The Raptors Show on Tuesday and reiterated that the Raptors rebuffed teams checking in on the Austrian big man. The Raptors see Poeltl as valuable to the development of their young core and will only trade the seven-footer if they are given an offer they can't refuse.  

A sleeping giant in Sacramento

If there is any player who could overshadow Butler in the trade market, it's DeAaron Fox. On Dec. 21, Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that the former All-Star guard's future with the Sacramento Kings is uncertain.  

Amick and Slater also mentioned that Fox's agent, Rich Paul, visited Sacramento to meet with Kings general manager, Monte McNair, on Fox's behalf. The subject of the meeting:

What is the franchise's long-term plan if Fox is going to stay? 

"I want to make sure that we're in a position to try to win in the future, because that's ultimately what I want to do," Fox said to Draymond Green on his podcast,The Draymond Green Show, in December. "For me, it's: Are we looking like we're continuing to get better year after year, and are we going to be able to compete at a high level?" 

Sacramento proceeded to fire former coach of the year, Mike Brown, replace him with former Toronto Raptor Doug Christie and go on a blistering 9-2 run, quelling rumours about the former All-NBA selection being moved.  

But the Kings are still ninth in the Western Conference. Despite their strong run of play, it is reasonable to ask if their roster is equipped to live up to Fox's championship aspirations.  

If Sacramento backslides at all, it isn't outside of the realm of possibility that Fox would be available. According to Amick and Slater, the San Antonio Spurs were positioning themselves to pursue the standout lead guard to pair alongside Victor Wembanyama.

The potential of having Fox's elite floater and lob package paired alongside Wemby? Oh boy.

The easiest fit of them all

Cam Johnson is the easiest plug-and-play guy out of any name on the block. He's an exceptional three-point shooter (hitting at a 40.6 per cent clip over the last three seasons, a top-20 mark in the league), has shown improvement as a secondary creator and has solid feel and size as a defender. Most importantly, he doesn't require offence to run through him. The majority of his touches come within the flow on spot-ups or as a second-side ball-handler. To top it off, he's averaging 19.6 points while shooting 42.8 per cent on 7.6 three-point attempts per game — all career-highs.  

For all of these reasons, Johnson is one of the most sought-after players available. The Nets know it, and they're playing hardball. According to Fischer, they have indicated to potential suitors that they aren't as inclined to move Johnson as they were with Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith in the trade that sent them to the Los Angeles Lakers. They are also seeking a package including as many as two first-round picks and a young player.  

The world-beating Cleveland Cavaliers are one team with interest in Johnson, according to The Athletic's Joe Vardon. Alternatively, after initially showing interest, the best-in-the-west Oklahoma City Thunder are no longer pursuing Johnson's services per Fischer's report.  

Fast breaks

• Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine have both been brought up in trade discussions reported by Begley, and Amick and Toney Jones respectively. However, rumours have cooled down regarding both players.  

Ingram shares Butler's desire for a large contract that is probably not coming. According to Fischer, the longtime New Orleans Pelican "was not amenable" to an off-season extension offer that fell in the range of a $40-million average annual value. Most potential suitors are also likely unwilling to offer what Ingram is looking for. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

• Of all positions, depth centres may be the most in-demand at the deadline. We've already seen Nick Richards and Thomas Bryant change teams in two of the four deals thus far. Still, there's no shortage available with Nikola Vucevic (per Amick, Slater and Marcus Thompson II), Nic Claxton (per ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps), Jusuf Nurkić (per Scotto), Robert Williams III (per Scotto) and Jonas Valančiūnas (per Stein) are all reportedly on the market.  

• Although Beal remains intent on using his no-trade clause, Stein reported that the Milwaukee Bucks may "rekindle their previous interest" in the six-foot-four guard. This could also work to facilitate a Butler deal, but the Bucks would first have to shed some salary to duck under the second apron.