Center DeAndre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns have not seen eye to eye for quite some time now. The two sides have a fragile relationship after they were not able to reach an agreement on a contract extension until Ayton accepted an offer from the Indiana Pacers as a restricted free agent, forcing the Suns to match the offer or let him leave for nothing via free agency.
The Suns had high hopes for Ayton when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft but things haven’t gone as planned since. His connection with former head coach Monty Williams waned, with Williams constantly expecting more from his center. They have tried to trade him on multiple occasions, but teams are reluctant to take on the remainder of his four-year, $132 million contract.
Now, the Suns replaced Williams with head coach Frank Vogel, who has become known for getting the most out of his centers. Vogel has seemed excited to get the opportunity to work with Ayton and the Suns’ decision to hire him led people to believe it was a vote of confidence in Ayton, but that may not be the case.
Per GOPHNX.com, the Dallas Mavericks made an “underwhelming” trade offer for Ayton. While that doesn’t mean he’s getting traded just yet, it implies the Suns are still open to trading him despite their new coaching hire.
GOPHX.com also previously reported that the Suns have established themselves as a “dark horse” team to help facilitate a trade for disgruntled Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard. Lillard requested to be traded to the Miami Heat over two months ago but the two sides have been at an impasse in negotiations after not being able to find a common ground.
Ayton’s future with the Suns remains uncertain at this point following the Mavericks recent attempt to acquire him. However, the Suns won’t just give him away, as suggested by them turning down the “underwhelming” offer from the Mavericks.
