Many had hoped the Suns - who have underperformed massively to expectations with their star-studded core - would have torn things down rather than pushing more chips to the middle

"Ask the other 29 GMs -- 26 of them would trade their whole team for our whole team and our draft picks and everything as is," Ishbia said during a press conference following the first-round sweep his Phoenix Suns suffered at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The flirtation between Jimmy Butler and the Phoenix Suns has gotten to the point that neither side is trying to hide it with the Feb. 6 NBA trade