Getty Suns stars Deandre Ayton and Kevin Durant
A new trade proposal would land the Phoenix Suns a former teammate of Kevin Durant for Deandre Ayton.
In a May 20 article called “1 Ambitious Trade Target for Every NBA Team,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes proposed that the Suns trade Ayton to the Golden State Warriors for Draymond Green, who played with Durant for three years.
“The idea of reuniting Kevin Durant and Draymond Green might trigger a double-take, but the former teammates squashed their beef long ago. Besides, if we couldn’t send Green to teams that employed players with whom he’d had a verbal or physical altercation, we’d run out of destinations in a hurry,” Hughes wrote. “With Warriors team president Bob Myers looking more and more like a flight risk, it gets easier to imagine the Dubs breaking up their dynastic core. Maybe if Myers walks away, Green picks up his option, back-channels extension discussions with the Suns and joins up with the understanding that a new deal would be in place for 2024-25.
“Deandre Ayton would provide the matching salary, and Green would give the Suns far greater defensive versatility than the former No. 1 pick. Phoenix would still need help on the wings and more overall depth, but perhaps a subsequent Chris Paul trade could provide some of that. Mostly, a Suns team that posted mail-in efforts in its last two playoff eliminations needs someone who’ll never go down without a fight. That’s Green in a nutshell.”
Green can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his 2023-24 player option worth $27.6 million. According to the latest odds from Sportsbetting.ag, the Suns have the third-best odds (+600) to acquire Green, who won two championships with Durant on the Warriors.
Deandre Ayton Would Be ‘Excited’ to Get Traded by the Suns
Ayton would be “excited” to get traded by the Suns this summer, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The Suns, who lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games, are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for Ayton.
“Sources told ESPN that Ayton’s teammates have shared their coach’s frustration with what they perceive to be inconsistent effort and aggression from the 7-footer,” MacMahon reported. “Ayton would be excited about a fresh start with another franchise, sources told ESPN. The Suns are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for him this summer, league sources said.”
Ayton averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds this season for the Suns. Meanwhile, Green put up 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game for the Warriors.
Deandre Ayton to the Mavericks?
Hughes believes the Dallas Mavericks should trade for Ayton this offseason.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report reported on April 8 that the Mavericks may try to trade for Ayton if superstar point guard Kyrie Irving returns in free agency.
“The Dallas Mavericks need a defensive anchor (and help on the wings) to give their Luka Dončić-Kyrie Irving experiment any chance of working, and they have limited resources to build out the roster.” Hughes wrote. “So if Ayton is gettable at a discount—and ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports he is, at least, gettable—Dallas should absolutely set its sights on him.”
Ayton has career averages of 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds with the Suns. He was the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.