They could find themselves in a similar spot next offseason, needing to reload their supporting cast with players on minimum-salary contracts. Regardless of what they do with Ayton, the Suns figure to be over the second apron in 2024-25 as well. Teams above the second apron also won't be allowed to aggregate contracts in a trade, send out cash in a trade or sign-and-trade one of their own free agents to receive another player's contract in return. After the end of the 2023-24 regular season, teams above either salary-cap apron can take back no more than 100% of the salary they send out in a trade. They'll likely have to make that decision by the February trade deadline. If he allows that to affect his defensive effort, the Suns could eventually decide to trade him for multiple rotation players. With Durant, Booker and Beal dominating touches on offense, Ayton might be a relative non-factor on that end of the floor. However, they've since decided to move forward with Ayton on the roster, as they believe his value to them "is at an all-time high with the additions of Beal and Durant," according to Turner Sports' Chris Haynes.ĭuring his introductory press conference, new Suns head coach Frank Vogel said he thought Ayton "can be one of the best centers in the league." Ayton showed that type of upside during the Suns' march to the 2021 NBA Finals, but he's been far more inconsistent over the past two seasons. That framework "initially held appeal to the Suns," according to Stein," because it would have given them two players they like in Hardaway and Holmes who could plug into a rotation with numerous vacancies" around Durant, Booker and Beal. According to longtime insider Marc Stein, they nearly traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Tim Hardaway Jr., Richaun Holmes and JaVale McGee leading up to the 2023 NBA draft, but "the Suns balked at McGee's inclusion." The Suns could always pivot before the February trade deadline and flip Ayton for multiple depth pieces. If any of them miss extended time in the regular season, it's unclear whether the Suns have enough depth to stay afloat in the cutthroat Western Conference. Booker missed 14 games in 2021-22 and 29 games last season, too. Durant missed the entire 2019-20 campaign after tearing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, and he has played only 137 games over the past three seasons combined. That's the bullish perspective on the Suns, but there's also reason to doubt whether their Big Four model is sustainable beyond this season.Īfter playing all 82 games in both 2017-19, Beal has missed at least 12 games in each of the past four seasons. Durant, Booker and Beal each routinely command double-teams, but it's impossible to send additional help at all three. Adding another three-level scorer alongside Durant and Booker should give the Suns a top-five offense this year and could make them nearly unguardable in the playoffs. Beal is coming off two relatively disappointing seasons, but he averaged more than 30 points per game with the Wizards in both 2019-21.
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