Trade Interest in Suns Center Deandre Ayton Heating Up

The Phoenix Suns are having a busy summer, and Deandre Ayton intends to ensure that continues.

You know it's summer when NBA rumors and news flies every day - and Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton knows that reality better than nearly everybody. 

Ayton - Phoenix's lone No. 1 pick in franchise history - has been the subject of talk since his arrival in the Valley. He's emerged as one of the more polarizing players in Arizona sports thanks to his talent/potential that is only countered by inconsistency among other factors. 

The Suns couldn't agree to terms on a contract extension two years ago and were forced to match an offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers last summer to keep him around. 

Even after being paid - the 24-year-old center has been the topic of trade speculation as multiple reports through the last two years have shown light in Phoenix's interest to move Ayton. There also could be some interest from Ayton himself on moving away from the Suns. 

However you slice it, speculation was always going to be loud around Ayton's future. 

Yet after the Suns acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards in exchange for a deal centered around Landry Shamet and Chris Paul, NBA insider Shams Charania appeared on the Pat McAfee Show and said Phoenix has received a lot of calls on their center:

“A lot of weapons for sure, and Deandre Ayton will be your fourth-best player on this team. We’ll see if he’s going to be there. One thing that has happened since this trade is Phoenix has been getting a lot of calls on Deandre Ayton in the last 12-18 hours. Teams are seeing if now Deandre Ayton is a little more attainable. We’ll see if he’s going to be back on the team or not next year," said Charania.

Full clip:

"Since the Bradley Beal trade the Suns have gotten a lot of calls on Deandre Ayton"@ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/365MklLKQS

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 19, 2023

As to teams who could be interested in Ayton, there's plenty that figure they could squeeze the most out of a lengthy, offensive-minded big man who has yet to have the opportunity to be a primary scoring option on a team.