Suns Projected to 'Sell Low' and Trade Deandre Ayton

B/R says the Phoenix Suns will have to bite the bullet and trade Deandre Ayton this season.

We're now officially less than a month away from Phoenix Suns (preseason) basketball.

That's a great feeling to have typing that, and surely Suns fans are even more eager to watch what should be an insanely talented team taking the court, one that has the potential to do what no other Phoenix team has done previously: Win the NBA Finals.

The three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal is certainly a step in the right direction. The Suns needed a fresher upgrade for Chris Paul in the backcourt while also desperately searching for a third scorer behind Durant/Booker - Beal solves both problems.

There was a lot of talk surrounding what might happen with Suns center Deandre Ayton, though that's nothing new. The former No. 1 pick has had trade speculation follow him for the last few years, though the closest we saw to movement was during his restricted free agency where he signed an offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers.

The Suns matched that within minutes to retain him.

With championship or bust expectations back in the mix, pressure is again on Ayton to perform to fight trade rumors when the deadline nears again.

Bleacher Report - in their 10 trade predictions article for the upcoming season - says the Suns will be forced to move away from their big man.

"The Phoenix Suns chose to keep Deandre Ayton this summer, although that may have been more about the lack of an appealing offer rather than their belief in him becoming a strong fourth option," wrote Greg Swartz.

"Trading Ayton before next summer would come with a lot of advantages, as the Suns cemented themselves as a second-apron team by trading for Bradley Beal.

"As of now, Phoenix can still trade Ayton and take 110 percent of his salary back in return from one or a combination of players. Next summer, that will go down to 100 percent, and the Suns will be unable to include cash or aggregate contracts in trades.

"We aren't likely to see the best version of Ayton playing alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal, especially without Chris Paul. Ayton received 30.1 percent of his total passes from Paul last season, with Booker finishing a distant second at 12.6 percent.

"Ayton's raw stats will suffer, and he'll eventually be traded for parts, with a rim-protecting center, wing defender and pass-first point guard all ranking at the top of Phoenix's wish list."

Ayton is currently on the second year of a four-year, $132.9 million deal with Phoenix. He had rights to veto a trade last season, though that's now gone heading into 2023-24.