Getty Suns center Deandre Ayton
The Phoenix Suns will be without center Deandre Ayton for Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Ayton won’t play due to a rib contusion.
Suns center Deandre Ayton has been ruled out of Game 6 tonight vs. Nuggets due to his rib contusion, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
Ayton is averaging 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in the Nuggets series while shooting 57.8% from the field. However, he hasn’t had a positive plus-minus rating in any game. The Suns have to win Game 6 at home to keep their season alive, as the Nuggets are up 3-2.
Phoenix will start Jock Landale in place of Ayton.
Deandre Ayton Hasn’t Played Well in the Nuggets Series
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey doesn’t believe Ayton has played well in the Nuggets series. The NBA analyst thinks the Suns are better off with Landale in the lineup.
“As far as rebounding goes, Landale crashes the paint like a sledgehammer,” Bailey wrote on May 10. “Against the mostly-bench lineups he’s faced, Denver can’t keep him from grabbing or influencing rebounds, even when sending multiple players to box him out. For the series, he’s beating Ayton’s offensive rebounding percentage by nearly four percentage points. And again, on a team with Durant and Booker (and when he’s healthy, CP3), that will be the only real source of creation a big can provide. Landale’s providing it. Ayton isn’t. If that leads to put-back opportunities, great. If it leads to more shots for the superstars, even better.”
According to Bailey, the Suns have lost Ayton’s 148 minutes by 59 points to the Nuggets in this series.
Should the Suns Trade Deandre Ayton This Summer?
Since Ayton has struggled against the Nuggets and Chris Paul is 38, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report believes Phoenix should trade Ayton to the Dallas Mavericks for Kyrie Irving, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns seemingly both head into this offseason short on options. Dallas and Phoenix could create some flexibility together, though, by brokering a sign-and-trade of Kyrie Irving for Deandre Ayton,” Buckley wrote. “Let’s start with the Suns, who have a pair of generational scorers in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker but very little firepower beyond them. Ayton sometimes fills that void, but there is zero reliability with his scoring or even his involvement. Chris Paul remains an expert connector, but he has never been less threatening on the offensive end (career lows in points, offensive box plus/minus and offensive win shares).
“Adding Irving would give them the third shot-creator who could launch this offense into unguardable territory. There is no right way to defend an attack with Irving, Durant and Booker. Each is a headache to handle in isolations, but they’d be nightmarish when linking up on pick plays for one another.”
Paul has a partially guaranteed contract for next season, while Ayton doesn’t have a good relationship with Suns head coach Monty Williams and may not be opposed to getting traded, sources told Heavy Sports. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro thinks the Mavericks and Suns could pull off an Irving for Ayton trade this offseason. Gambadoro said two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant “loves” Irving.
“I would not rule out a Kyrie Irving for Deandre Ayton trade in the offseason,” Gambadoro said, via SI. “I’m telling you, I think that there’s a possibility. KD loves Kyrie. I don’t think the Luka, Kyrie thing worked out … There’s only like three teams with cap space, so it’s gonna have to be a sign-and-trade.”