Say goodbye to DeAndre Ayton? Not for now. The Phoenix Suns have built a star-studded team – Bradley Beal has landed in Arizona to join Devin Booker and Kevin Durant – and management wants to see how far they can go on the floor playing alongside the 2018 No. 1 draft pick. .
That is the information handled by Chris Haynes from Bleacher Report. The Suns’ plan right now is to hang on to Ayton and see how he works with their Big Three. Despite the fact that they have slipped that it is highly valued in the market, they do not want to miss the opportunity to see how good the team is with these four; yes, leaving it really difficult to shape the rest of the roster.
The contracts of the mentioned players add up to a total of 162 million dollars in salaries, a tremendous expense for only four pieces considering that the salary cap for the 2023-24 season is projected at 136 million and the luxury tax starting in 165. So… are we facing a desire or an obligation?
That is the question that arises when reading Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN. According to this renowned journalist, those from Arizona have run out of outings with Ayton. We would be talking about the fact that at the moment the market for center born in the Bahamas is scarce; that is, Phoenix could transfer it, but he would hardly get anything of value in return, so keeping it is understood as a lesser evil.
And right here comes the change in strategy. It is probable – almost certain – that the Suns remain open to closing a transfer with their center; however, filtering that what they really want is to keep you on the staff is the only way to increase their value in the face of hypothetical buyers. They have a product that has run down and they need to recover it without it hitting the floor – at least until October.
salary exhausted
As we said, staying with Ayton means that the Suns are tremendously financially limited to surround their stars; so much so that it may be the case that Cameron Payne, whose $6.5 million salary is partially guaranteed, is the only player on the roster not earning the maximum or the minimum.
Beyond the four maximums, Phoenix is also guaranteed the contracts of Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd, both for the minimum. According to the collective agreement, those from Arizona will not be able to make use of the biannual exception or the mid-level exception this summer, but they will be able to use a commercial exception of 5 million dollars. At least they have some Bird rights with their own free agents: Darius Bazley (Bird), Jock Landale (Early Bird), Torrey Craig (Early Bird) and Josh Okogie (Non-Bird).
A challenge for Vogel
Despite the fact that Phoenix has put together an eminently offensive team, it has entrusted the command of the bench to Frank Vogel, who just stands out for his defensive contribution from the band. Perhaps the plan is to find a balance between talent and the discipline imposed by the new head coach. As we find out, it’s Vogel himself who makes it clear that he hopes to bring out the best in DeAndre Ayton.
“He can be a great deterrent on defense and there are still areas where he can grow offensively. I intend to really connect with him and restore him to an All-Star level player.”
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
