Suns: Deandre Ayton's Biggest Question Heading Into Free Agency

Suns center Deandre Ayton is good, but will his production on the court match his price tag?

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton is good. 

Since arriving to the league as Phoenix's No. 1 pick, he has steadily improved each season. Ayton was a big reason why the Suns got as far as two games up on the Milwaukee Bucks two years ago in the NBA Finals, and also played a role in helping the Suns set numerous franchise records this past season.

But can he turn into a great player?

Ayton is still relatively young, has tremendous athleticism and the upside for him to turn into a serious game-wrecker is still there. 

Yet when talking about Ayton's tenure with the Suns, you must take the good with the bad. 

Ayton has proven to be inconsistent in wrong stretches, and effort isn't always there. Sprinkle in (from an outsider's perspective) his unwillingness to assert himself in the paint for 48 minutes, a Game 7 spat with coach Monty Williams and of course his love of video games have all come back to haunt him in basketball conversations. 

In a recent article, Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz analyzed every team's top free agent and their biggest question mark. Ayton is by far the Suns' top free agent heading to the market, albeit with a restricted tag following him that allows Phoenix to dictate the final say of his future. 

"While some players keep their financial demands a secret, there's been no guessing what Ayton desires in free agency. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ayton's agent, Bill Duffy, both confirmed that the 23-year-old wanted a max extension before the season began, one the Phoenix Suns were unwilling to offer. That line of thinking has not changed on Ayton's end, especially since he put up another productive season (17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 63.4 percent shooting) and has witnessed teammates like Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Chris Paul all sign significant new deals," said Swartz.

"Teams looking to sign Ayton this summer (Wojnarowski mentioned the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers as potential suitors) shouldn't come in with anything lower than a max offer. This would mean a four-year, $130.1 million deal in a sign-and-trade (since the Suns won't let him walk for anything) or a five-year, $175.5 million contract to stay in Phoenix, per Spotrac.com's Keith Smith. The hesitation to give him such a deal is justified by the Suns, who registered a net rating of plus-19.0 when backup center JaVale McGee shared the floor with the other four starters (Paul, Booker, Bridges and Jae Crowder) compared to plus-7.4 with Ayton, albeit in a much smaller sample size.

"There's no doubting Ayton's talent as a versatile scorer, high-level rebounder and improved defender, but he's also not in the upper-echelon of centers that include guys like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and company. Is that kind of player still worth a max? We'll find out."

With Ayton, it's not a matter of "if" the talent is there. Anybody who's tuned into Phoenix Suns basketball can tell you a time or two where Ayton looked every bit of the dominant big man he was in college, perfectly balancing the frontcourt with Devin Booker and Chris Paul. 

According to Cleaning the Glass, Ayton's PSA (Points per Shot Attempt) ranks in the 85th percentile for centers around the NBA. Yet his overall defensive rating (105.2) ranks lower than the league average of 110.6 and he had the highest turnover percentage (12.6%) out of every Suns starter this year. 

The Suns, like many other teams reportedly interested in Ayton, must determine if the upside and current/future production can match the checks they'll sign off. 

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