It wasn’t a huge surprise that Bradley Beal ended up on the Phoenix Suns, but what was surprising was how little they had to give up for him.
The Washington Wizards only managed to get Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks, and pick swaps for a player of Beal’s caliber. NBA teams were shocked by that underwhelming haul and it appears the Wizards did try to get a better deal, as per insider John Gambadoro.
“Yes. Washington did ask for Deandre Ayton in the Beal trade and the Suns were unwilling to include him in the deal.”
Yes. Washington did ask for Deandre Ayton in the Beal trade and the Suns were unwilling to include him in the deal. https://t.co/hMSZfNts4E
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 19, 2023
Deandre Ayton, instead of Paul would have certainly made this trade less lopsided than it was. Paul was basically a salary dump while Ayton, for all his flaws, could have been a solid addition for the Wizards.
He is only 24 years old and averaged 18.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, and 0.8 BPG this past season. Unlike Paul, he would have also had some value if the Wizards wanted to trade him at a later point.
In the end, they were just handicapped by the fact that Beal had a no-trade clause. They also wanted to trade him as soon as they could and had to accept a really sub-par return because of it.
Deandre Ayton Still Looks Set To Be On His Way Out
While the Suns didn’t want to include Ayton in this Beal trade, that doesn’t mean they won’t be trading him. They can now use him as a trade piece to get some quality depth, something they seriously lack at the moment. The Suns were confident about trading Ayton after acquiring Beal and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of return they can get for the big man, if and when they move him.
Another reason why Ayton is probably on his way out is that the Suns’ Big 4 of him, Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker, are set to make $162.9 million next season. If all four remain on the roster, then the Suns are almost set to cross the second apron for the 2023-24 season of $179.5 million after they fill their roster. That will lead to them being penalized in multiple ways and the best way to avoid it would be to trade Ayton.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
