The Deandre Ayton trade rumors and speculation continue to heat up ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Could the Phoenix Suns trade the center before the draft on Thursday?
NBA chatter is swirling around Ayton and the Suns, with writers proposing a lot of trade suggestions for the former No. 1 overall pick out of Arizona.
With the addition of Bradley Beal, the Suns don’t have a lot of salary cap flexibility with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Ayton also on the roster.
Could Phoenix create some flexibility and gain some roster depth by trading Ayton?
Take a look at some NBA trade ideas and potential destinations and landing spots for Ayton should the Suns trade him, according to NBA writers.
Could one of these trades come to fruition on draft night or perhaps later in the offseason?
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Andy Bailey has Boston getting Buddy Hield from Indiana as well as the No. 7 pick in the 2023 draft and a 2027 first-round pick, with Cameron Payne coming from Phoenix.
He has the Pacers getting Jaylen Brown from the Celtics and Ayton from the Suns.
Bailey wrote: “From the Suns’ perspective, this deal and the Beal trade that actually went down turn Ayton and 38-year-old CP3 into Beal, Pritchard and three-and-D center Myles Turner. Beal’s contract certainly makes the cap sheet more restrictive, but those moves give the team more shooting to deploy around Booker and KD.”
Tyler Watts suggested five trades for the Suns for Deandre Ayton and had this one with Houston listed at No. 1.
He wrote: “The Suns’ would further harm their defense, but they get a skilled young center, a draft pick to acquire another rotation piece, and space to maneuver. It allows Phoenix to use their mid-level exception to sign a few role players in free agency. This trade creates just enough room to let them round out their roster around Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.”
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Noah Weber wrote: “The Suns get to move on from a contract they probably consider a “bad” contract while gaining Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, and JaVale McGee. All three of those players could play valuable minutes for the Suns and would bolster their depth. Hardaway Jr. would have the chance to be a spark plug off the bench for the Suns. He is a streaky shooter but can get scorching hot from downtown. Phoenix wouldn’t have been able to find a player of his caliber on the open market to sign for the MLE or veteran’s minimum, and he’d be a great pickup for them.”
Liam McKeone wrote: “The other option is the one the Suns would probably prefer– trading Connaughton, Grayson Allen, and Bobby Portis for Ayton. Neither of these are *great* deals for the Bucks but the championship core is aging around Giannis and they may feel the need to make a drastic change to the roster for the long-term health of the organization. This would certainly qualify.”
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Charles Curtis wrote: “Once again, Collins is a Sun. Also there’s lots of depth here and Onyeka Okongwu would be the defensive center the Suns need. I love this one!”
Christopher Kline offered three potential trades involving Ayton, with his list leading off with this deal with Detroit.
he wrote: “The Suns get Bojan Bogdanovic, who can sit on the wing and bury 3s while defenses work themselves into knots trying to contain the Durant-Booker-Beal triumvirate. James Wiseman can theoretically offer some of that rim protection Vogel values, but the former No. 2 pick is still more theoretical than actual with his production at this point (although he did manage some eye-popping stat lines down the stretch for wayward Detroit).”
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Gerald Bourguet listed 40 potential trades, yes, 40 trades, for the Suns and Ayton, with this deal involving Orlando first.
He wrote: “Wendell Carter Jr.’s 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game don’t quite measure up to Ayton’s numbers, but his rebounding figure was slightly diminished by the multitude of big men he shared the court with. His 0.6 blocks per game feel low, but the 6-foot-10 big actually checked out as a more effective rim deterrent than DA, holding opponents to 4.3 percent worse shooting at the rim. For reference, Ayton held opponents to 2.9 percent worse shooting.”
What’s your trade suggestion for the Suns involving Deandre Ayton?
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton trade suggestions before 2023 NBA Draft
