Phoenix Suns: 3 Reasons Why Deandre Ayton Deserves a Max Extension

The Phoenix Suns assume their positions on the floor, surrounded by a nuclear crowd ready to meet its detonation. Jae Crowder takes the ball, looking to inbound along the baseline. He first looks down the floor toward Cameron Johnson, and then glances at Mikal Bridges out by the corner. Neither appear open.

Then it happened.

Coming around a Devin Booker screen, Deandre Ayton started gliding toward the basket. Crowder gently tossed the ball above DeMarcus Cousins’s nine-foot-five standing reach, as well as the backboard’s top left corner. It cascaded down with only one intention: to find Ayton’s hands.

Soaring over Ivica Zubac, Ayton secured the rock, and flushed it through the net. The buzzer rang with fury, echoing the barbaric cheers from the seats. Ballgame…Suns win again.

That play, deemed the “Valley-oop,” poises to go down as an all-time great moment within Phoenix history. So did the player responsible for it, only until quite recently.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adrain Wojnarowski reported that contract talks between the Suns and Ayton recently stalled out. Due for an extension past his rookie deal, Ayton’s camp wants nothing more than a max-deal, on par with the others signed by his fellow draft class members.

However, the Phoenix front office is hesitant to invest so heavily in their former first overall pick. With Mikal Bridges also up for extension this year, and Cameron Johnson the next, the Suns know that several potentially large expenditures lie ahead for them to decide on.

Although understandable at some levels, this move to deprive Ayton from a max extension still feels like a greedy one for Phoenix’s “higher ups.” Last year, Ayton contributed mightily to their Western Conference conquest, even outside from his game-stealing “Valley-oop” play.

Before things turn ugly, the Suns need to recognize these three factors, pony up, and deliver Ayton the money he deserves.

Why the Phoenix Suns Must Extend Deandre Ayton: Spectacular Recent Growth

During Ayton’s first two years, basketball fans mocked the Suns for selecting him, rather than bonafide superstars Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Even though Ayton made solid contributions for Phoenix during his first two seasons, he still looked like a clear miss as the first overall pick purely due to the greatness already exuding from Doncic and Young.

But last year, especially during the postseason, Ayton somewhat silenced those critiquing both his play, and the Suns for taking him at number one. As a playoff participant, he put up 15.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, the third and second highest amounts by a center.

Night in and night out, Ayton also came through with record-breaking efficiency numbers. The former Arizona Wildcat ended up shooting 65.8 percent from the field, the second highest by all playoff participants.

With these incredible numbers considered, and with them coming on the game’s most important stage, it finally feels fair to call Ayton’s first overall selection a reasonable choice. At this point, naming him a better player than Doncic and Young feels like a difficult argument, but he still embodies a top pick-level talent, and when you have one of those on your team, you need to make sure you lock him up long-term.

Also at only 23 years old, Ayton likely gets even better during his next few seasons as he inches into his prime. Not possessing him for those years threatens to not only hurt the team production-wise, but also feel like a dagger in the heart to fans and ownership.

Why the Phoenix Suns Must Extend Deandre Ayton: Center Market is Depleted

As the NBA moves into a “positionless” league, the center spot continues to hurt the most. Although once seen as the marquee spot to fill on a team, over the last 20 years, centers have become somewhat extinct.

The NBA’s MVP history best represents this phenomenon. Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic indeed won the award last year, but he came as the first center to do so since Shaquille O’Neal after the 1990-2000 season. Before that, a center won the award 54.5 percent of the time.

Remaining versatile is the best way for a big to stay afloat amidst this trend. Gone are the days of “back to the basket” scoring spearheaded by Al Jefferson, Dwight Howard, and Pau Gasol. Instead, modern centers need to stretch the floor with a decent jump shot, while still dominating at the rim.

But luckily for the Suns, Ayton fits this versatile, and necessary mold. With the center position simultaneously dying out, that makes him an incredibly hot commodity, so extending him becomes an obvious move.

With the league’s talent pool, one can easily find a talented forward or guard. But a center? That takes some serious digging, and the Suns need to recognize this treasure while they still can.

Why the Phoenix Suns Must Extend Deandre Ayton: Who Else will Play the Five?

As Phoenix’s main opponents, the Los Angeles Lakes, Denver Nuggets, and Utah Jazz all possess the game’s best centers, with exception to Joel Embiid. If the Suns want to achieve more playoff success during the coming years, then they likely need to go through these squads and their acclaimed centers.

While looking to do that, Ayton represents not only their best option, but only option at the five.

If the Suns fail to extend Ayton and let him walk, free agency offers no chance to add a center able to match that of their opponents. Bam Adebayo, Davis, Jokic, Embiid, and Gobert all remain under contract until at least 2025, leaving the Suns with zero alternative players to go after.

Additionally, the Suns do not own their first round pick next year. But even if they were to score on a talented center after the 2023 campaign, they will not only have wasted a year of Booker and Paul’s time, but possibly even more with the seasons required to develop whatever prospect they take.

This goes without saying, but Phoenix possesses almost no option to replace Ayton currently on their roster as well. Both JaVale McGee’s and Frank Kaminsky’s contracts expire after this season, and even if they both re-signed, they stand no chance stopping Davis, Jokic, or Gobert.

Jalen Smith resembles the only center under contract past next summer, and even though he possesses a notably high ceiling, choosing to rely on him while chasing a title feels like a foolish pursuit.

The Suns simply cannot stay competitive without Ayton. If they fail to strike a deal, they likely spend their next four years as doormats for Denver, Los Angeles, and Utah.