Pat Connaughton could be the linchpin for a blockbuster Phoenix Suns trade

A wild trade involving Pat Connaughton could unlock Jimmy Butler to the Phoenix Suns.

Capology is a labyrinth designed by sadists. The NBA’s CBA is an inscrutable beast, layered with first and second apron restrictions, rules on salary aggregation, mid-level exceptions, and enough legalese to make your skull throb. Trying to untangle it is like staring into the sun while solving a Rubik’s Cube.

The Phoenix Suns, suddenly flush by tripling first-round draft capital, are clearly plotting something big. But what? What devilish masterstroke is lurking in the shadows?

I spent an hour — no, scratch that — a brutal, soul-sucking hour dissecting every conceivable trade scenario to land Jimmy Butler in Phoenix while trading Bradley Beal to the Milwaukee Bucks. The dream is there: Jimmy in Suns purple, snarling his way to buckets and bad intentions. But the path? A minefield of unworkable cap sheets and impossible trade mechanics. It’s maddening. It’s exhilarating. It’s borderline masochistic. And yet, here we are, teetering on the edge of obsession.

There are forces at play here beyond the Suns’ control. Chief among them is Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause. That thing is a handbrake on any grand plan, a rare weapon in a league where player movement usually operates like a stock market frenzy. But let’s entertain the fantasy: a world where Beal waives it, finds himself lured by the siren song of Milwaukee, and joins forces with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It’s not hard to imagine the appeal. Beal slotting in as the smooth, scoring third option behind two generational stars, chasing a ring in a city that just might pull it off. Maybe that’s enough for him to say, “Screw it, I’m in.”

But then you hit the brick wall. The CBA’s cap rules stand tall like an unforgiving bouncer at the club door, and the Suns, already in luxury-tax hell, would need to pull off cap gymnastics that would make Simone Biles blush. Nearly impossible.

The Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in a predicament similar to the Suns: trapped above the second apron. This comes with a litany of restrictions, none more punishing than the inability to aggregate player salaries in a trade. There’s no stacking contracts to make the math work, which makes clearing enough space to bring in Bradley Beal an almost impossible feat.

Khris Middleton is the obvious trade chip here. At 33 years old, the small forward is earning $31.7 million this season, a hefty contract that could theoretically grease the trade machine’s wheels. But even with Middleton in the mix, the Bucks’ position over the second apron adds another layer of complexity. They’d need to shed additional salary to even approach feasibility, and that’s before considering the challenge of enticing a third team — like Miami — to join the party.

There’s one crucial difference between Milwaukee and Phoenix: the numbers. The Phoenix Suns are a whopping $28.2 million over the second apron, while the Bucks sit a more manageable $6.5 million above it. And that difference? It opens the door to possibilities.

Enter Pat Connaughton, a player whose $9.4 million salary could become the linchpin of a larger deal. His contract provides just enough flexibility to enable something bigger, making him a potential key piece in navigating the Bucks’ cap challenges.

The trade machines won’t let you send Pat Connaughton to a team like the Chicago Bulls and then see how Milwaukee’s payroll adjusts. But if they did, the possibilities start to emerge. If Milwaukee could move Connaughton to a team like Chicago — safely under the first apron — they’d shed that salary, creating room to maneuver.

For example, swapping Connaughton for Torrey Craig would save Milwaukee $6.6 million. That savings would drop them below the second apron, unlocking the ability to aggregate salaries and making a much larger deal feasible.

This is where things get wild. Toss in a fourth or even fifth team to help Milwaukee shed salary, carve out space for Bradley Beal, and sweeten the pot for Miami (apologies, Khris…Father Time’s undefeated, and you’re not exactly the guy you used to be). Suddenly, the dominoes start to fall.

Jimmy Butler lands in Phoenix and gritty, glorious chaos ensues. Am I advocating for this? Against us? Honestly, I’m not even sure anymore. The financials seem to work. At least I think they do. But trying to decode the NBA’s CBA is like trying to paint a picture while skydiving. Madness. Maddening madness.

In short, if there’s any shot at Bradley Beal leaving Phoenix for Milwaukee and Jimmy Butler rocking the Suns’ purple, Pat Connaughton is the linchpin. The absolute key to unlocking it all. He’s the one who’d have to be shipped off first, long before any real trade talk can even breathe. That’s the next mile marker, folks.

When Connaughton moves? That’s when the real wheels start turning. That’s when the circus comes to town. Until then, we wait. I think.