(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
On Sunday, the Phoenix Suns made another bold move to improve their roster, with the team making a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards to acquire veteran guard Bradley Beal.
Although the trade in itself was shocking, considering it hasn’t been that long since the Suns shocked everyone with the Kevin Durant deal, perhaps the most surprising thing was the trade package that Washington received in return.
The biggest name headed to Washington is veteran point guard Chris Paul, who could be rerouted elsewhere or ultimately bought out and made a free agent.
Along with Paul, the Suns added Landry Shamet and draft picks, which seems like an absolute steal for Phoenix, even though they are taking on Beal’s enormous contract.
According to John Gambardoro of Arizona Sports, the Suns were adamant about not adding Deandre Ayton in the trade via NBA Central.
Deandre Ayton was requested by Washington in the Beal trade, but the Suns declined to include him, per @Gambo987 pic.twitter.com/Q4oBw1R9g5
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 19, 2023
Interestingly, many believed Ayton would be traded this summer, as he hasn’t seen eye-to-eye with the franchise for quite some time.
However, the Suns could be trying to make another trade to send Ayton elsewhere in hopes of bringing multiple role players back to bolster the roster since this team has no depth as currently constructed.
So the Suns might not be done yet and are holding onto Ayton as a trade asset that can be used at some point during this summer or at least ahead of next season.
On the other hand, new head coach Frank Vogel seems fond of Ayton and may want the team to hold onto him, hoping to get the best out of him moving forward.
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