5 players who should be traded during NBA Draft

No. 4 player who should be traded during NBA Draft: Deandre Ayton

The Suns made the first big splash of the summer by acquiring Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and pocket change (a lot of pocket change, to be fair). Now Phoenix is left with four guaranteed contracts on the books ahead of free agency and the draft: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and… Deandre Ayton.

Those four players combine for over $160 million in payroll. Ayton is the obvious odd man out if Phoenix wants to spread the wealth a bit more evenly around their new ‘Big 3.’ The No. 1 pick’s poor effort in the playoffs, career-worst regular season, and obvious friction with the coaching staff and front office only increases the odds — maybe even the necessity — of making a move.

Ayton doesn’t have any built-in problems with new head coach Frank Vogel, but even the change in leadership doesn’t erase questions about Ayton’s fit. For all his physical gifts, Ayton isn’t a prolific rim protector. Frank Vogel is a defensive savant who has always built his most successful units around elite shot-blockers like Anthony Davis or Roy Hibbert.

The dream scenario here is for Phoenix to turn Ayton into multiple rotation-level players — ideally a replacement center with some length in the middle and a wing or two to populate the rotation around Durant, Booker, and Beal.

Ayton’s trade value is evidently not very high, but it’s hard to imagine no teams taking interest in a 24-year-old center with Ayton’s intersection of skill and body-building physique. There is absolutely untapped star upside and it does feel like a change of scenery is the only path to unlocking it. The Suns should be actively looking to trade him and other teams should be actively looking to poach him for pennies on the dollar.