One of the many storylines in the epic collapse of the Phoenix Suns is Deandre Ayton, whose future with the franchise is being questioned around the league after logging just 17 minutes during Sunday’s Game 7.
As fans scratch their heads thinking about the team’s meltdown, an ugly breakup could be on the horizon. Speaking on NBA Today, Adrian Wojnarowski revealed the latest update on the Ayton situation and explained that several teams will pursue ways to sign him this summer:
“Deandre Ayton did not feel valued by this Phoenix organization. They were not able to come to an agreement on his rookie extension and he saw many of the top players getting extensions and he wanted a max deal, he would not move off that. So now, he moves towards restricted free agency this summer where he’ll have some more options. But, ultimately, Phoenix will still match an offer out there and keep him if he signs an offer sheet with another team. [He] is going to get a max contract in the marketplace, somewhere… There are a lot of teams lining up to figure out: how can we acquire him?”
"Deandre Ayton is going to get a max contract in the marketplace somewhere… There are a lot of teams lining up to figure out: how can we acquire him?"
— @wojespn on where things stand between Ayton & the Suns
📽️ "NBA Today"#NBATwitter #ValleyProud pic.twitter.com/vESI8T9vqe
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) May 16, 2022
Ayton, 23, was the first pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, before Luka Doncic and Trae Young. While his stats have been pretty good so far (16.3 points per game for his career), he isn’t nearly on the same level as some of his peers.
Still, Ayton gives Phoenix an important presence in the paint. He can do it all and was a staple for the squad until Game 7 of the West Semis when he, bizarrely, only played a little over 17 minutes. There are even reports of a confrontation between him and head coach Monty Williams:
“Our man Lil Wayne told me, he was sitting across, I think he either heard it or could lip read, Monty got so upset with Ayton that he said, ‘you freaking quit on us’. And that led to an exchange in which each, Monty and Ayton had to be restrained from going at each other,” said FOX Sports analyst Skip Bayless.
The situation is tense in Phoenix. After so much time being, clearly, the best team in basketball, this isn’t the way anyone saw their season ending.
Now, we can expect the front office to make some major changes, which may include the young Deandre Ayton, who was already at odds with the franchise.
The Suns as we know them may soon become a thing of the past.
