Getty DeAndre Ayton, Suns
The NBA season is underway, which means it is also NBA trade-talk season. Actually, the way the league has gone in recent years, it is always trade-talk season. That applies even to the Heat, coming off a wild offseason that put Miami among the favorites in the East.
But one guy whose situation has piqued the interest of many in the NBA is Suns center DeAndre Ayton, who was not given a contract extension by Phoenix after team owner Robert Sarver refused to offer Ayton a maximum contract extension that would go into effect in 2022-23. That’s been enough to get front-office folks wondering if Ayton would land on the trade market.
ESPN Sources: Suns talks with Deandre Ayton on rookie extension have ended — without a deal. Ayton expected max contract and owner Robert Sarver hasn’t offered it. More coming on consequences for failing to reach deal with 2018 No. 1 overall pick. NBA Today debut, ESPN2. Now.
“That is definitely not the case yet,” one general manager told Heavy.com. “The Suns still have a lot of the leverage in this. But if they really don’t think the situation is going to change, then yeah, they’d have to consider maybe making a move sooner than later.”
Could the Heat get involved in getting Ayton out of Phoenix? He averaged 14.4 points and 10.5 rebounds last season for the Suns, who went to the NBA Finals, and shot 62.6% from the field. He is an old-school center in the modern NBA, and was the No. 1 pick for Phoenix in 2018.
He never lived up to the production of other draft classmates of his, like Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Atlanta’s Trae Young. But he is only 23 and still a big guy with promise. The Heat would have to take notice.
Miami Would Have a Hard Time Acquiring Ayton in Trade
Ayton is slated to make $12.6 million next year. For the Heat that would be an easy contract to match, though getting the talent to line up would be more difficult.
The Heat could do a swap of Ayton and Duncan Robinson, who makes $15.5 million and, considering Robinson’s 3-point prowess, Phoenix would have an interest in him. But for a guy who was drafted with the top pick just three years ago, the Suns would need more to show than just Robinson. The Heat would have to include a future first-rounder, but even that would not be enough.
Might the Suns consider swapping Ayton for a package built around Tyler Herro? Maybe, especially with Herro’s strong preseason and excellent debut performance (27 points). The Suns would have to take back, say, P.J. Tucker, too, or some other combination of players to make a deal work. A frontcourt of Ayton and Bam Adebayo would, most definitely, be interesting.
But such a trade would leave the Suns without a center and with duplication at shooting guard — Phoenix star Devin Booker is, like Herro, a shooting guard. Again, it would be a tough sell getting Phoenix to take back only Herro and, perhaps, a draft pick, especially considering the structure of the roster already in place.
Suns Have Leverage in Ayton Situation
Still, there is a chance the Suns will get desperate to move Ayton, especially if they lose some of the momentum the team gained coming out of last year’s impressive playoff run. The team paid Chris Paul a handsome contract this summer, giving him four years and $120 million. It also gave Mikal Bridges four years and $90 million in an extension. Bridges was also drafted in 2018.
That could open an opportunity for a team looking to pry away a young former No. 1 pick. But the Suns are not close to that point now. They do have leverage here, namely restricted free agency. Ayton will be able to sign with any team next summer, but the Suns will have the right to match any deal, even for the max. And the max he would get elsewhere won’t match the five years and $172 million he wanted from Phoenix.
That leaves Ayton with limited options. It also means he won’t likely be traded by Phoenix.