The Phoenix Suns have had to bench a starter from earlier in the season, and he's had a strong reaction to the change.
Led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the Western Conference's eighth-place Suns have played well in January, winning seven of their last nine, and are 8-4 overall this month. The Clippers are sixth in the West standings, led by veteran stars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, plus their top scorer this season Norman Powell.
Amid a roller-coaster season that began with title hopes, the Suns needed a shakeup. But with limited options, where do they go from here?
They have virtually no assets to send out in trades, and the only player whose salary matches Butler’s is Beal, who has a no-trade clause and $110.7 million still owed to him. Beal, sources
Bradley Beal is open to waiving his no-trade clause for the right team, according to a report from Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Phoenix Suns' Royce O'Neale had 11 points and the team-high four steals as a starter in their 111-109 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
The Suns are also exploring pairing one of the newly acquired first-round picks with Jusuf Nurkic to acquire a starting-caliber or high-level rotation player on the trade market, league sources
Will the Miami Heat grant Jimmy Butler's trade wish to the Phoenix Suns? NBA pundits weigh in on Suns' targets before Feb. 6 trade deadline.
With less than 10 days until the NBA trade deadline, HoopsHype has gathered the latest intel on Bradley Beal’s future involving Jimmy Butler trade talks, a Jusuf Nurkic update, notes on several Raptors drawing trade interest,
Ivica Zubac, James Harden and Norman Powell again lead the Clippers, who use a 10-0 surge to pull within one point with 40.4 seconds left, but the Suns hold on for a 111-109 win.
Devin Booker scored a game-high 26 points, Kevin Durant dropped 24 and Grayson Allen contributed 18 off the bench to lead the Suns to a third straight victory. Tyus Jones scored 17 as he and Booker each hit five 3s.
Aesthetically pleasing wins aren't coming anytime soon for the Suns, but the sooner they show progress through their mistakes like Monday's win over the Clippers, the closer they will be to achieving those in the future.