As the NBA rumor mill heats up, there are two players that are dominating the headlines right now: Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving and Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton.
With the future of both players up in the air, it has generated a pretty significant amount of buzz leading up to the draft later this week.
And now, according to Ric Bucher of FOX Sports, there is some talk about both of the players mentioned above being involved in the same trade.
Ayton, Beal, Brunson and Irving are potential trade material if their current teams question their ability to re-sign them and hope they can facilitate a bigger payday for the player by utilizing their Bird rights in exchange for the right to trade them and receive assets in return.
One league source is certain that Ayton will not be returning to Phoenix despite being a restricted free agent. He pointed to the Pistons as the likeliest landing spot, though a deal sending him to the Nets as part of a swap that moved Irving to a third team also was thrown out as a possibility.
Even with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the team, the Nets suffered without a quality, dependable big man in their lineup. At 23, Ayton could be that guy for Brooklyn.
Through 58 games in the 2021-22 season, Ayton averaged 17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game on 63% shooting. He was huge for Phoenix, who finished with the best record in the league.
Unfortunately, due to various reasons, Ayton’s relationship with the Suns, and even head coach Monty Williams, has taken a sour turn, and it remains to be seen if it can recover. If not, Ayton is bound to be headed elsewhere this summer, and it might just push a trade scenario with Brooklyn into the realm of possibility.
