They had been talking about it for days, and it has finally come true. Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN has announced that the talks between Phoenix and DeAndre Ayton have concluded without an agreement for the extension of the center’s contract.
It is far from a surprise. Whoever was number 1 in the 2018 draft was – and is – convinced that he deserves a maximum salary, something that in his case would be in five years and $ 172.5 million. Not so for the Suns. Do not come to center as a maximum player and they only considered such an option offering him fewer years (three or four), but they never came to present a formal offer.
Such a situation makes uncertainty about Ayton’s future. If nothing changes, he could choose to be a restricted free agent next summer, which would allow him to go on the market and force Phoenix to match the offer he receives, if they want to retain him. In the same way, you have the possibility to sign the qualifying offer for the 2022-23 season and being an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023. Whatever happens, the reality is that the Suns have a problem.
Although in Arizona they understand that he is not a top player, it is not that they can safely do without him. With Monty Williams on the bench and Chris Paul as an ally on the court, Ayton has flourished as a player who delivers great performance on both sides of the court. In the last playoffs he achieved the best shooting percentage in history by going up to 66%. As far as defense is concerned, he left Giannis Antetokounmpo at 53% shooting from the field; the Greek made 70% against the rest of the team.
(Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images)