NBA rumors: Deandre Ayton trade likelihood not lessened by Monty Williams leaving

The Suns are reportedly not less likely to trade Deandre Ayton after firing Monty Williams with Chris Paul’s future also uncertain.

The trade likelihood for Deandre Ayton has not decreased since the Suns fired Monty Williams, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN on The Hoop Collective Podcast.

Williams and Ayton were at odds during pretty much Williams’ whole tenure with the team.

“But by no stretch do I believe that Monty Williams’ departure makes it much more likely for Deandre Ayton to still be in Phoenix next season. I still am pretty sure Deandre will be traded this summer,” MacMahon said on the podcast.

During the podcast, the rest of The Hoop Collective talked about how the Suns would prefer to keep Chris Paul over Ayton.

“They’re got a decision to make on Chris Paul,” MacMahon said. “I think that one is certainly more likely for Chris Paul to be back. They need to understand what their potential options are there as well. Obviously, Chris Paul is still a very good player, but at 38 years old, if they could somehow turn him into a couple of quality role players, I think that’d be something that they would have to seriously consider.”

The Suns are weighing what to do with Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul

A very good suggestion is that the Suns use Chris Paul as a expiring contract. Although Paul does have two more years on his contract, both of these years are non-guaranteed (the first year is partially guaranteed but yeah basically). This means that a team could waive him without taking cap hit or giving out the cash.

Deandre Ayton is the more worthy asset due to the fact that he is still a young-ish player. Paul is the better player for the Suns which would make more sense for a team that is competing for now and just gave up all of their tradable draft picks. Even though Williams is gone and Frank Vogel is in, the relationship between Ayton and the Suns is still probably at a weird point.

Both parties would probably benefit from a mutual parting of ways. Ayton would go to a team that is much better fit and the Suns would be able to get depth for their team going forward.

A deal with Dallas offering Tim Hardaway Jr. and other depth pieces makes a lot of sense.