Generally very knowledgeable about the Suns, John Gambadoro distills the info on Twitter. He notably contradicts Chris Paul on the influence of Isiah Thomas, who is close to Mat Ishbia but who was not directly involved in the exchange for Bradley Beal, the latter having only met the owner but also James Jones, the GM of Phoenix and Frank Vogel, the coach, with his agent, Josh Bartelstein.
Also according to John Gambadoro, the Wizards asked to include Deandre Ayton in the trade around Bradley Beal but the Suns refused, preferring to use Chris Paul to recover the back.
Does that mean that Phoenix is counting on its pivot? Not necessarily. Interviewed by Michael ScottoJohn Gambadoro explains that the Suns would like to trade him to recover “two or three good players”. In order to densify their workforce around their “Big Three”.
“I think Phoenix’s preference is to trade Deandre Ayton to get depth in their roster. Their leading trio is well established with Booker, Durant and Beal. Their problem — and that’s why they’re no better than the Denver Nuggets — is their fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth players. They don’t have depth. Trading Ayton and that $30 million salary for two or three good players is the best option. We have to find a team that accepts Ayton. His contract is over $100 million for the next three years and he has never been a dominant center. He is not Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic. He’s a good player, someone who could put up 22-24 points and 12 rebounds a game, but if he’s your second-best player, you’re probably not going to win. »
For “Gambo”, the track leading to Spurs may thus be an option. San Antonio could thus absorb his contract in exchange for a “trade exception” which would allow the Suns to complete their workforce.
“Could the Suns trade him to San Antonio? I know they are going to sign Victor Wembanyama, but they say they don’t want him to play pivot right away. If they have Ayton, maybe Victor can play power forward for a while, which would spare him physically. I think that’s an option, and you’re trading Ayton and getting nothing in return to free up some wage room.”he concludes.
| Deandre Ayton | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | PHX | 71 | 31 | 58.5 | 0.0 | 74.6 | 3.1 | 7.1 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 16.3 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 38 | 33 | 54.6 | 23.1 | 75.3 | 3.9 | 7.6 | 11.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 18.2 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 69 | 31 | 62.6 | 20.0 | 76.9 | 3.3 | 7.2 | 10.5 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 14.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 58 | 30 | 63.4 | 36.8 | 74.6 | 2.6 | 7.7 | 10.2 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 17.2 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 67 | 30 | 58.9 | 29.2 | 76.0 | 2.6 | 7.4 | 10.0 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 18.0 |
| Total | 303 | 31 | 59.7 | 26.3 | 75.5 | 3.0 | 7.4 | 10.4 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 16.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
