There's a non-zero chance that a Jimmy Butler trade at the deadline could break a record that Klay Thompson set just last year.
If the Miami Heat manage to trade Jimmy Butler ahead of the February 6 NBA Trade Deadline, it's pretty clear that it's going to take a ton of heavy lifting. In other words, the Heat are going to need help - and a lot of it. If Jimmy is traded at the deadline, the overwhelming belief is that it will take multiple teams. The hope of it being a simple 1-for-1 trade is extremely unlikely. At this point, I'm not even sure if a 3-team trade is going to get it done.
As noted by Marc Stein, there's a chance that a Jimmy deal could set a new record at the trade deadline. Klay set the record during the last offseason when it took six teams to get the deal to the Dallas Mavericks done. With how complicated the Jimmy efforts have been thus far, there's a chance as many as seven teams could be involved. That would set a league record for the number of teams involved in one deal.
The complexities of a Jimmy Butler trade
Less than two weeks away from the trade deadline, there are currently many obstacles toward a deal. For one, the team with the most interest in Jimmy has next to nothing that would appease the Miami Heat in terms of compensation. That's a pretty big deal. That means the Suns (and possibly the Heat) are working the phones to get other teams involved. The fact that Bradley Beal (the player who will certainly be an outgoing contract for the Suns in any deal for Jimmy) has a no-trade clause adds another complicated layer to a potential trade getting done.
If it's not the Suns, one of the other rumored teams that could make sense as a landing spot for Jimmy is the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee is looking to make a splash move at the trade deadline and their front office has not shied away from pulling off a surprising deal. But even if the Bucks were to push aggressively for a trade of Jimmy, I'm not sure they have a ton that would appeal to the Heat. That means they would have to work the phones to find a way to get other teams involved as well.
Popular NBA podcaster Bill Simmons proposed a five-team blockbuster deal centered around Jimmy that may not seem that outlandish of an idea. But even a deal like that would come with its obstacles in getting it across the finish line. With as many moving parts as there could end up being in a potential Jimmy trade, a seven-team deal coming to fruition at the trade deadline isn't that outlandish of an idea. It would be quite a league-shifting - and historic - move if it were to happen that way.