Getty Image / Dylan Buell
The Phoenix Suns have been incredibly busy this offseason after finalizing a deal to acquire Bradley Beal.
Since then, speculation is the organization will trade Deandre Ayton in an attempt to fill out a more balanced roster.
Now, it appears the franchise is attempting to shut down trade rumors.
According to Chris Haynes, the Suns have decided to keep Deandre Ayton on the roster instead of trading him. They want him to play a key role in the starting rotation.
Phoenix Suns are moving forward with the plan of keeping Deandre Ayton to play alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 25, 2023
Haynes also reports the Suns want to see Ayton play alongside the newly formed big three, as his “value to the franchise is at an all-time high.”
Suns believe Ayton’s value to the franchise is at an all-time high with the additions of Beal and Durant. Phoenix wants to see them play together.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 25, 2023
Four of the five starters in Phoenix are on big contracts, which means the front office may struggle finding the help it needs for the bench.
Even so, with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton, the Suns arguably have the best starting five in the league with those four in the lineup.
We’ll see how it plays out for the organization, as they should be busy come free agency.
In the meantime, it appears most NBA fans think the Suns are making a mistake by not trading Deandre Ayton.
I think they should’ve traded him. He seem like a good dude but now you have to go digging in the D league crates lol to fill out the roster.
— Magnificent Fox (@FoxKingdxm) June 25, 2023
Some fans think Ayton isn’t gaining any traction in trade negotiations.
AKA no one wants him so we have no choice but to keep him
— JG (@JohnnyMagic23) June 25, 2023
Meanwhile, nobody is letting Ayton forget about this play.
well he better play better than this pic.twitter.com/0sBNsrp0Vn
— Brandon (Be Random) #GETUP (@FruityMinoru) June 25, 2023
The NBA free agency window opens on Friday, Jun 30. We should see the Suns be incredibly active that day trying to find the best players possible to fill out the roster.
There will probably be multiple guys signing minimum deals for the time being though.
Trading Deandre Ayton makes a ton of sense, but because the Suns are opting to keep him, Phoenix is choosing a difficult route to find much-needed depth.