While the feeling has faded since the Draft, there had been an expectation the Suns would trade Deandre Ayton for depth to go around their big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
They almost did, coming close to a deal with the Dallas Mavericks, Marc Stein reported in his newsletter on Tuesday. What hung it up was... JaVale McGee? Apparently.
Stein later noted that this trade could only happen by expanding the Mavericks’ trade with the Kings to get Holmes into a three-team deal because league rules would prohibit Holmes from being flipped in another deal that quickly.
The bigger takeaway: This confirms there is no real market for Ayton.
Phoenix has been trying to flip the former No. 1 pick — taken two spots ahead of the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic — who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds a game (with an inconsistent defensive presence) since the trade deadline, and especially in the run-up to the Draft. Other teams looked at Ayton’s production, then at the $102 million he is guaranteed over the next three years, and passed. Ayton is not a bad player, but teams think they can get 80% of his production at a fraction of the cost. Dallas was one of the few teams willing to roll the dice on a trade like this because they need a center and they need more talent around Dončić.
This trade falling through puts pressure on new Suns coach Frank Vogel to turn Ayton into the kind of drop-back center Phoenix needs to anchor its defense, and keep him engaged when he’s the fourth option on offense and not getting a lot of touches. That may end up being one of his biggest coaching challenges this season.
Unless this trade finds a second life and Phoenix does finally trade Ayton.
