Speculation Swirls Around Deandre Ayton's Future With Suns
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the Phoenix Suns are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for Deandre Ayton.
“Ayton would be excited about a fresh start with another franchise, sources told ESPN,” MacMahon said. “The Suns are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for him this summer, league sources said.”
This comes as no surprise. Ayton struggled all playoffs averaging only 13.4 points, a huge drop off from the regular season.
Most importantly, Ayton seems disinterested while on the floor. He played with an extreme lack of intensity which affected the Suns in the second round against the Denver Nuggets, mostly allowing Nikola Jokic to take over the series.
Being picked first overall in 2018, it seemed as if the sky was the limit for Ayton. While Ayton has been a serviceable center through the first five seasons of his career, he hasn’t exactly lived up to the superstar status many scouts thought he would ultimately become.
It's not only his underwhelming play that has been a concern, but his attitude draws attention as well. During the Suns’ Game 7 matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round last season, Ayton had a dispute with head coach Monty Williams and was taken out of the game early. Williams described it as “internal.”
After another underwhelming season, the value that Ayton will command on the trade market is still unknown.
“Although Ayton had a disappointing series against Denver — getting benched down the stretch of the Suns’ Game 3 win and frequently dominated by two-time MVP center Nikola Jokic — league sources expect several teams to show interest in acquiring the 24-year-old, who averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game this season,” MacMahon said.
Just one day following the Suns elimination to the Nuggets, Ayton reportedly met with general manager James Jones according to the Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin.
After five up and down years, we could finally be seeing the end to Ayton’s tenure in the Valley.
