Bradley Beal and his agent have not discussed waiving the trade ban to leave the Suns

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal and his agent have not had conversations about waiving his no-trade clause and his only focus is helping the team out of its recent crisis, agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN.

The Suns have been linked to Jimmy Butler after the Miami Heat suspended him and announced they would pursue trade options last week. That sparked speculation and reports that Beal could be involved.

The situation drew more attention on Monday when Suns coach Mike Budenholzer, in an unexpected move, decided to move Beal to the bench to revive the team after it had lost 17 of its last 24 games.

“There have been no trade discussions with the Suns or any other team,” Bartelstein said. “Bradley’s total focus is on helping the Suns turn things around.”

Beal said after Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, his first game as a reserve in nine years, that he hadn’t heard anything from the team about a trade, adding that “I have the cards” if the Suns were to pursue one.

Bartelstein said Beal, who has two years and $110 million left on his contract after this season, would never waive the no-trade clause he got when he signed a five-year, $251 million contract with the Washington Wizards in 2022.

Due to the trade restrictions of being a second team due to its $216 million payroll, Phoenix would have no functional way to acquire Butler unless it used Beal as part of the trade.

Bartelstein did not rule out the possibility of waiving the clause for an approved deal, as Beal did in 2023 when he was traded to the Suns, if a “perfect” situation arose. But that measure is not currently under consideration, Bartelstein reiterated.

Beal played 31 minutes off the bench on Tuesday, scoring 10 points with five assists in a 115-104 loss at Charlotte to drop the Suns to 16-19 on the season. He scored 25 points off the bench Monday in the win at Philadelphia. He averages 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Beal and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers are the only NBA players with no-trade clauses in their contracts.