Deandre Ayton has had a rough couple of seasons with the Phoenix Suns, ending consecutive playoff runs with a benching at the end of an elimination game due to disagreements with head coach Monty Williams.
Even with Williams gone and Frank Vogel in as the new coach, Tim MacMahon of ESPN believes Ayton is still likely to be traded this summer.
(36:00) “Certainly, it’s been well-chronicled the head-butting between Deandre Ayton and Monty Williams. But by no stretch do I believe that Monty Williams’ departure makes it much more likely for Deandre Ayton to still be in Phoenix next season. I still am pretty sure Deandre will be traded this summer.”
MacMahon also said he thinks it’s likely that Chris Paul will remain on the team, so trading Ayton will likely be a move to add depth to the roster. The Suns are severely hampered by their current salary situation, a pain that will only exacerbate when the new CBA rules kick in in their entirety.
The Suns will be hard-capped after using any CBA-related exception to sign free agents for more than the minimum, so building out the roster this summer is going to be a massive challenge.
Where Could Deandre Ayton Go?
Deandre Ayton will likely have his fair share of suitors around the NBA even after his years of struggle. Everyone could see he had a poor relationship with Monty Williams and his athletic skillset and age will make teams confident that they can be the ones to extract the full potential out of the former No. 1 overall pick.
The Mavericks were among the most likely teams to be making a move for Ayton, but with new targets like LeBron James, they will likely be prioritizing that over Ayton. The Indiana Pacers tried signing Ayton to a max last summer, so they could acquire him this summer and finally move off Myles Turner and some other contracts to give the Suns some depth.
The Portland Trail Blazers also have an outside chance at making something happen and have been linked with using the No. 3 pick this year in an Ayton trade. A sign-and-trade with Jerami Grant could get the Suns a very useful player along with other salary-matching pieces from Portland.
The Bulls and Hornets have also been linked.
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