Deandre Ayton's future with the Suns?

[Indy]

Would you guys be ok with giving Ayton 5/125?

Depends on if he wants to be here, or we are the only option left for him to get paid. I worry about his motor/motivation and that was when he was working for his 2nd contract. Once he gets it, and if he isn't where he wants to be or didn't get paid as much as he thought he should... oof.

[Superbone]

Would you guys be ok with giving Ayton 5/125?

Depends on if he wants to be here, or we are the only option left for him to get paid. I worry about his motor/motivation and that was when he was working for his 2nd contract. Once he gets it, and if he isn't where he wants to be or didn't get paid as much as he thought he should... oof.

It'll pay off in a few years when he moves on to figuring out how players get that 3rd contract.

[Mori Chu]

Suns front office disappointed after learning that Ayton's desire for a "ring" turns out to be the Elden Ring.

[Superbone]

From another board. What do you think about this?

ESPN's Trade Machine says this works:

Phoenix gets
Pascal Siakam ($35.4 million next season, contract ends 2024)
Precious Achiuwa (2.8, 2024)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (1.9, 2023, salary filler)
future first-round pick

Toronto gets
Deandre Ayton (30.9, 2026)
Landry Shamet (9.5, 2026)
Dario Saric (9.2, 2023)

[TOO]

From another board. What do you think about this?

ESPN's Trade Machine says this works:

Phoenix gets
Pascal Siakam ($35.4 million next season, contract ends 2024)
Precious Achiuwa (2.8, 2024)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (1.9, 2023, salary filler)
future first-round pick

Toronto gets
Deandre Ayton (30.9, 2026)
Landry Shamet (9.5, 2026)
Dario Saric (9.2, 2023)

If the Suns added Siakam and KD, they're going a really long way next year

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Siakam, Achiuwa a Future first? No way, unless Jeremy G is working on Toronto FO.

[Drewsprocket]

Would you guys be ok with giving Ayton 5/125?

Depends on if he wants to be here, or we are the only option left for him to get paid. I worry about his motor/motivation and that was when he was working for his 2nd contract. Once he gets it, and if he isn't where he wants to be or didn't get paid as much as he thought he should... oof.

It'll pay off in a few years when he moves on to figuring out how players get that 3rd contract.

He couldn’t put it together to earn his first max deal. There won’t be a second.

[Indy]

Siakam, Achiuwa a Future first? No way, unless Jeremy G is working on Toronto FO.

Yeah, there is no way Toronto would do that deal. I would do it in a second and then turn around the assets for KD. Because they would much rather have Siakim than DA.

[INFORMER]

First time in awhile Gambo makes a good point. There are just too much talent at the 5 spot to pay a premium for a non-star center. And it would be even dumber for the Suns to pay Ayton given the way they use him.

[Indy]

First time in awhile Gambo makes a good point. There are just too much talent at the 5 spot to pay a premium for a non-star center. And it would be even dumber for the Suns to pay Ayton given the way they use him.

Do you think they should (or should have) use him differently?

[INFORMER]

Absolutely. You have to maximize the #1 pick in the draft. You can't marginalize him just run the Point Gawd system. You can't put all your eggs in the Chris Paul basket. You have to see if you can get Ayton to the point where he can be an offensive force - that was road to keeping Booker happy in the long-term - give him a running mate that he can play with for the next 6-8 years.

Instead, we asked Ayton to focus on finishing and setting picks. So yeah, he had insane field goal percentages, which made it look like he was getting better, which he wasn't.

And again, Ayton has blame in this too. He isn't exactly working on his game the way Book did in the awful Ryan years.

Both parties have fallen short of what they needed to do to make the most of a pick that should have never happened.

[TOO]

Absolutely. You have to maximize the #1 pick in the draft. You can't marginalize him just run the Point Gawd system. You can't put all your eggs in the Chris Paul basket. You have to see if you can get Ayton to the point where he can be an offensive force - that was road to keeping Booker happy in the long-term - give him a running mate that he can play with for the next 6-8 years.

Instead, we asked Ayton to focus on finishing and setting picks. So yeah, he had insane field goal percentages, which made it look like he was getting better, which he wasn't.

And again, Ayton has blame in this too. He isn't exactly working on his game the way Book did in the awful Ryan years.

Both parties have fallen short of what they needed to do to make the most of a pick that should have never happened.

Great post.

[The Bobster]

Absolutely. You have to maximize the #1 pick in the draft. You can't marginalize him just run the Point Gawd system. You can't put all your eggs in the Chris Paul basket. You have to see if you can get Ayton to the point where he can be an offensive force - that was road to keeping Booker happy in the long-term - give him a running mate that he can play with for the next 6-8 years.

Instead, we asked Ayton to focus on finishing and setting picks. So yeah, he had insane field goal percentages, which made it look like he was getting better, which he wasn't.

And again, Ayton has blame in this too. He isn't exactly working on his game the way Book did in the awful Ryan years.

Both parties have fallen short of what they needed to do to make the most of a pick that should have never happened.

I agree with all except for the part about Ayton not working on his game - we've seen great improvement in his defense and his shooting since he entered the league.

But as we've seen, putting all your eggs in the Chris Paul basket at his age isn't the wisest thing to do. And this team (and especially their coach) weren't their strongest at adjusting on the fly.

[INFORMER]

To be clear, I wasn't saying Ayton hasn't worked on his game at all - I was comparing him to the time Book put in early in his career.

[JeremyG]

It is pretty unfair to essentially tell Ayton to go out and prove you're a max player and we'll pay you next summer, and then not give him the opportunity to prove he's a max player last season (at least in the Suns' eyes in terms of offensive production).

[specialsauce]

If the KD deal falls through or if we end up
Including Mikal but not DA , I would offer DA somewhere between the Mikal Bridges and Jarrett Allen deal to stay.

It’s clear he’s not demanding a max deal on the market. It’s spoken. If he’s not happy with it, he can sign the QO and be an unrestricted next year or we can trade him at the deadline

[Mori Chu]

It is pretty unfair to essentially tell Ayton to go out and prove you're a max player and we'll pay you next summer, and then not give him the opportunity to prove he's a max player last season (at least in the Suns' eyes in terms of offensive production).

IMO only a shitty boss tells you to get out there and prove what you're worth. If the company/boss knows what they're talking about, they'll be able to see what you're worth and they'll value you. If you have to keep bending over backwards to "prove" yourself to them, they aren't listening, or they are just making excuses so they can blame you for when they mistreat you.

As for Ayton, I think he's become underrated a bit, and I think if he goes to the right team, he will really blossom. If we lose him, I hope he finds a good situation.

[JeremyG]

Suns are about to let their first and only #1 overall pick walk for nothing.

[Superbone]

Suns are about to let their first and only #1 overall pick walk for nothing.

Stop it! No they're not. They're not THAT dumb.

[Split T]

I wonder if we’re using Gambo right now…get the Nets scared that Ayton is about to be off the table and force them into a deal…or at least that’s what I’m hoping haha