NBA Exec: Suns Have the Worst Contract with Bradley Beal amid Butler Trade Rumors

As the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler continue their showdown, with the star forward suspended for seven games while he seemingly attempts to orchestrated a trade to a different team, there is a contract floating around out there even worse than Butler's expiring deal (he'll be a free agent after the season, though he has a $52.4 million player option).

"It's more difficult than people think," a team's head of basketball operations told Heavy.com's Steve Bulpett regarding the situation in Miami. "First of all, Jimmy's 35 and doesn't have much value. And then the team that would like him the most is probably Phoenix, because they're so bad and they have the worst contract in (Bradley) Beal. Other than that, I don't know of any teams that would want to take on Jimmy Butler, other than teams that just want to dump contracts—and Miami won't go for that. I just don't know how it's going to work."

Beal is undoubtedly overpaid at this point, making $50.2 million this year, $53.6 million next season and $57.1 million in the 2026-27 campaign (assuming he exercises his player option for the final year on his contract, which he assuredly will). That's a lot of money for a player who has averaged 18.1 points per game in two seasons with the Suns.

What makes it even worse, however, is that Beal has a no-trade clause, which means that even if agreed to be moved to a certain team, he could decline to be traded in the future. Beal has already suggested that he'll exercise his right to veto a trade if he's so inclined.

"If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards," he told reporters last week regarding any trade rumors surrounding him. "Until I'm addressed and somebody says something different, then I'll be a Sun."

Phoenix has moved Beal to a role off the bench, which could perhaps be perceived as a slight to the three-time All-Star. The Suns have gone 3-1 since that decision, however.

It's possible that Butler will ultimately be moved if Miami find the right deal. Unlikely, but possible. But Beal isn't going anywhere if he doesn't want to, limiting Phoenix's ability to tweak the roster around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. And that factor, combined with how expensive the contract is in the first place, makes it an albatross from the organizational side of the equation.