A journalist for the National Basketball Association has suggested that the Golden State Warriors engage in a blockbuster trade with the Phoenix Suns in order to acquire Deandre Ayton. The following suggestion for a trade was floated by Eddie Bitar of Fadeaway World between the Warriors and the Suns:
Ayton finished the previous NBA season with averages of 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 58.9% from the field and 76.0% from the free throw line. The Phoenix Suns won 45 games during the regular season thanks in large part to his 36 double-doubles.
Ayton’s performance, on the other hand, was not nearly as good during the playoffs of the 2023 NBA season. The center finished with 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game on the season against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets. Ayton finished the series against the Nuggets averaging 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, but he did not post a plus-minus rating in any of the games.
The Suns were eliminated by the Nuggets in the six-game Western Conference Semifinals of the 2023 NBA season. Because of a rib contusion he sustained in Game 5, Ayton was forced to sit out of Game 6.
Monty Williams, the previous head coach of the Suns, and Deandre Ayton did not get along very well. The front staff of the Phoenix Suns thinks that its new head coach, Frank Vogel, will be able to connect with Deandre Ayton more than former coach Monty Williams did, and that Vogel will be able to assist Ayton in being more involved on both sides of the court on a more consistent basis.
Ayton made an attempt to depart the Suns during the summer that just ended by signing an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers for a four-year deal worth a total of $132.9 million. Despite this, Phoenix submitted an offer sheet that was equal to that of Indiana.
According to Zach Lowe, an NBA insider for ESPN, there is currently no plausible trade that could turn Ayton into the kind of players (or selections) who would maintain or improve the Suns’ chances of winning the NBA championship. This move, which was proposed by Tran, would provide Phoenix additional depth and, in Wiggins, an explosive scorer. When the 2023–24 NBA season begins, it will be fascinating to observe whether or not the Suns and Warriors discuss trading Deandre Ayton.
If Phoenix’s front staff could find out a way to acquire Ayton from Golden State, the Warriors could play Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Ayton in their starting lineup.
