Sports
NBA Trade Rumors: No Deandre Ayton Deal Available That Would Boost Suns' Title Odds – Bleacher Report
With their star-studded starting lineup, it’s pretty ironic that arguably the most important piece to the Phoenix Suns’ championship hopes next season is Deandre Ayton.
In a Western Conference where big men like Nikola Jokic´ and Anthony Davis reign supreme, Ayton is the piece that the Suns would have a hard time replicating, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
That’s why ESPN’s Zach Lowe believes even amid the rocky relationship between Ayton and the organization, Phoenix won’t be able to complete a trade centered around the 25-year-old that would increase their chances of winning the title.
“There is no viable trade right now turning Ayton into the kinds of players (or picks) that would maintain or boost the Suns’ title odds, per league sources,” Lowe wrote Monday. “The Suns’ top priority — from Ishbia to Ayton and down to the 15th man — should be doing whatever it takes to repair their relationship with Ayton, to lift him back up.”
The reason it’d be so difficult to complete an Ayton trade is because of how top-heavy Phoenix has constructed its roster and the assets its sacrificed in the prcoess.
The organization traded away plenty of key pieces in their deals for Kevin Durant ahead of last season’s trade deadline and Bradley Beal earlier this offseason. The Suns essential offloaded most of its available draft capital and several talented young players in the two trades.
So, trying to acquire another center that would take them over the top or that’s better than Ayton may require more than what they are able to give up.
After being a key piece for Phoenix’s run to the NBA Finals in 2021, finally showing the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Ayton has experienced rising tensions between himself and the organization over the past couple years.
Lowe said that the difficulties between the two sides began in the 2022 postseason when Ayton and then-coach Monty Williams had a falling out during the team’s blowout loss against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.
He was then essentially forced to sign an offer sheet with another team in restricted free agency ahead of last season, doing so with the Indiana Pacers on a four-year, $133 million deal—the largest offer sheet in NBA history—which the Suns eventually matched.
Some of that tension may have slipped into this past year, Williams’ last one with Phoenix. Lowe certainly saw plenty of regression on Ayton’s part.
“As last season unraveled, the balance Ayton had worked so hard to hone eluded him. He abandoned ball handlers too early on the pick-and-roll, turning his back to them, retreating from live dribbles, conceding driving lanes he had once shut off,” Lowe wrote. “Needed help rotations never came. Ayton regressed into that addled rookie again.”
Now, with a new coach and core in place, Ayton may find his footing once again and can be the key difference between a second-round exit and a title.
Durant, Beal and Booker will constantly be the focus on the offensive end of the floor, meaning Ayton’s role will be as pivotal as ever in the pick-and-roll and on defense.
Last season Ayton had a good year on paper, averaging 18 points per game to go along with 10 rebounds on 58.9 percent shooting from the field.
