The Suns tripled their first-round picks in a deal with the Utah Jazz.
It’s trade season, folks!
The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz agreed to a deal that could be the first domino to getting Jimmy Butler in a Suns uniform.
Phoenix sent their highly-coveted 2031 unprotected first-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for three first-round picks. They are set to acquire the least favorable firsts in 2025 (CLE/MIN), 2027 (CLE/MIN/UTH), and 2029 (CLE/MIN/UTH).
The Phoenix Suns are trading their 2031 unprotected first to the Utah Jazz for three first-round picks, sources tell ESPN. The Suns are acquiring the least favorable firsts in 2025 of Cleveland/Minnesota, 2027 of Cleveland/Minnesota/Utah and 2029 of Cleveland/Minnesota/Utah.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 22, 2025
This move triples Phoenix’s first-round picks and “unlocks” their next six drafts as Shams went on to mention. Utah had a wealth of draft pick capital and they looked to cash out with one (potentially) valuable pick rather than what figures to be three late first-round picks.
The Suns breakup their lone tradable first in 2031 into three firsts.
There is certainly a huge risk considering 2031 is unprotected and no guarantee who is on the roster.
But this trade gives Phoenix 3 tradable firsts instead of 1.
The first in 2025 is expected to be the…
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 22, 2025
ESPN’s story highlights that a Jimmy Butler deal could motivate this move. “Butler, who requested a trade from the Heat earlier this month, has the Suns among his preferred trade destinations, sources said.”
Even if the Suns do not use this in a deal for Butler, this positions them to strengthen their roster by making separate deals. Or they could be simply looking to strengthen their draft pool in sheer numbers though the picks are swap-protected and likely to be late firsts.
Shoutout to Keith Smith for this useful nugget, which I think is huge. They now hold picks in each of the next six drafts, including swaps.
Before this, the Suns could only trade the 2031 first.
Now, they could trade picks in any of the next six drafts, as long as they space them out according to The Stepien Rule.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 22, 2025
This deal is ultimately about flexibility for Phoenix, and consolidating for Utah.