Suns could move on from both Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton this summer, per report

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The Phoenix Suns suffered another embarrassing playoff elimination loss Thursday night, this time from the Denver Nuggets. When halftime rolled around the Nuggets were up by 30 points, an eerie callback to Phoenix’s Game 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in last season’s playoffs when the deficit was the same. Similar to the Mavericks, the Nuggets cruised to a win on Phoenix’s homecourt and secured a spot in the Western Conference finals. But for the Suns, another long offseason awaits them, and there will be some difficult decisions to make for this team to reach its ultimate goal of winning a championship.

It will be tough for the Suns to significantly improve this roster given they’re paying their top four players $145 million between Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul. However, major changes could be afoot for this franchise, and Ayton and Paul could be the odd ones left out. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, there’s speculation that Ayton and Paul have played their last game with the Suns, and could be used as trade assets to bolster the depth of this roster.

To take it a step further, the Suns are expected to “aggressively” shop Ayton this offseason. The former No. 1 overall pick would reportedly be “excited” about a fresh start with a different franchise after what’s been a strenuous relationship with the Suns the last two seasons. Phoenix reluctantly matched Ayton’s max offer sheet he received from the Indiana Pacers last offseason, and his relationship with Suns head coach Monty Williams has been rocky. Despite back-to-back disappointing postseason appearances from Ayton, the big man is still a productive center and he’s just 24 years old. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds this season, so he should trigger interest from several teams around the league looking to add some rim protection in the frontcourt.

In regards to CP3, he’s got a $30 million team option that becomes fully guaranteed on June 28. MacMahon reports that Phoenix will canvas the league to see what type of deal they can get for the veteran point…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/suns-could-move-on-from-both-chris-paul-and-deandre-ayton-this-summer-per-report/

Author : Jasmyn Wimbish

Publish date : 2023-05-12 16:40:56

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