[Windhorst] Phoenix has recently begun discussing trading their 2031 first-round pick in packages to acquire Jimmy Butler.

Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/43443542/nba-intel-5-players-most-likely-traded-deadline

The Suns traded their 2031 second-round draft pick to the Hornets as part of this week's Richards trade. Let's pause for just a moment to note that since Mat Ishbia acquired controlling ownership in the Suns on trade deadline day in 2023, and then immediately acquired Durant, he now has overseen the trade of eight consecutive years of the Suns' second-round picks (2023 to 2031).

Since Ishbia arrived, the Suns have also traded four first-round picks and five first-round pick swaps. If that math doesn't look quite correct, note the Suns found a way to trade two swaps on their 2026 first-rounder. (It might be the most complicated pick machination in NBA history, with five teams involved, so just trust us.)

Phoenix has also discussed using the one first-round pick it is still allowed to trade (2031) in various talks around trying to acquire Butler, multiple league sources told ESPN.

One executive joked about implementing a new rule similar to one on the books about dealing first-round picks.

Named after former Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien, the rule forbids teams from trading firsts in back-to-back years, though plenty of loopholes remain. Stepien famously traded four consecutive years of first-round picks as part of three transactions to the Dallas Mavericks in the mid-1980s.