After being drafted first overall by the Phoenix Suns, Deandre Ayton struggled for a bit before coming into his own. Over the last two seasons, Ayton has proven himself to be a great big man who can make big moves in the paint, all while getting some stops on defense. He has been instrumental to the success of the Suns, and teammates like Chris Paul and Devin Booker certainly love having him on the floor.
Unfortunately for Ayton, he and the Suns have been in a bit of a dispute since last year. Ayton believes he deserves a max deal this offseason, although the Suns don't agree. In fact, there is such a division between the two sides, that ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski is saying a trade might be imminent as soon as the weekend.
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“I think there’s a lot of sign-and-trade options scenarios out there that they’ll be able to start working through once we get to Thursday,” Wojnarowski explained. “The Suns have had a reluctance to give Deandre Ayton a max contract, but I do believe it’s available to him out in the marketplace. Can they find a package of assets back that makes sense for them?”
There is no guarantee that such a trade will get done, however, it seems like a likely possibility given the circumstances. The Suns could get quite a bit for Ayton especially since he is a more than serviceable big man who can help make any team better.
Stay tuned to HNHN for more updates from around the NBA.