Heat rightly have no interest in only trade that lands Jimmy Butler with Suns

As the NBA's calendar edges closer towards 2025, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler continues to be the player that most believe will be dealt before the trade deadline in early February. Butler for his part has done all of the things you would expect him to in this situation, including giving vague answers to questions from reporters and leaving a game with illness.

We've been down this road many times before - and although it is harder than ever to trade stars - Butler is going to be dealt eventually. The fact that the Phoenix Suns continued to be mentioned is bizarre though, as they have no real way of going out and obtaining the 35-year-old.

Actually that's not true, but the Heat have no interest in that deal.

Obviously if the Suns are going after Butler, it is to pair with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. He might be an ageing star like Durant, but that's the demographic the win at all costs right now Suns have put themselves in. Butler's injury history is getting no better - nor is Durant's for that matter - yet it is still better than the current path they are on.

One that features Bradley Beal heavily, and who the Suns could actually send out in order to get Butler back. There would likely have to be a third team involved to take on a player such as Alec Burks - hardly a massive stumbling block - but that's not the real issue here. There is no way the Heat should have any interest in the 31-year-old Beal.

Yes he is younger - but as we've already seen plenty in The Valley - that has not equated to being able to stay on the court. Last season he appeared in 53 regular season games, and already this time out there has been calf tightness and knee swelling. Beal was once super reliable with the Washington Wizards, but we're about a half-decade past that.

Beal would become - in theory at least - the best player in Miami, which is exactly why the Heat wouldn't do it. You can't build a winner around Beal at this point in his career, in fact you could argue he was never a leading man in this league. He sure is paid like one however, and being owed $110 million over the next two seasons is exactly why the Heat don't want to take him on.

Perhaps by this time next season - if you squinted hard enough - Beal could be viewed as an expiring deal. The final year of his current contract is a player option as well, although at over $57 million, you can be sure he is going to pick that up. An overpriced and underqualified rental in place of Butler is not what the Heat have in mind though, and that's without considering the no-trade clause.

Beal has one of those on his deal - it did not go away when he was sent to Phoenix - and he doesn't seem interested in going anywhere. South Beach sounds great and all, and this may be hard to believe if you've watched the Suns so far this season, but Phoenix represents a better chance to win right now. There's nobody close to Booker or Durant's level in Miami.

Purely from the perspective of the Heat though, Beal is about the worst kind of player they could get in return. Past his best and overpaid - and although the Heat like to re-load over rebuilding - younger players and draft picks rightly appeal more. The rumors persist for some strange reason, but the only way a deal gets done also happens to be the one route the Heat absolutely will not take.