In the end, the Phoenix Suns did help facilitate a Damian Lillard trade, but it wasn’t the blockbuster deal that many believed was going to end up happening. The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t trade Lillard to the Toronto Raptors, who was a reported favorite heading into the week. They didn’t even trade him to the Miami Heat, Lillard’s original preferred destination.
Instead, the Blazers moved Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Suns, of all teams, helped make it happen. After months of speculation, the Suns finally traded Deandre Ayton (to the Blazers) in an attempt to add depth around their stars.
Here is the official deal:
Chipping in by sending Ayton to the Blazers in exchange for added depth, it’s safe to say that this move will end up being quite polarizing in the end for Phoenix. Depending on how this season plays out, this is a move that, I’d have to imagine, is going to be questioned for a while.
As the shockwaves continue to spread throughout the league, let’s try to break down what this trade ultimately means for the Suns now that it is completed.
Instant reactions to the Phoenix Suns trading Deandre Ayton
1. The success of this season could hinge on Jusuf Nurkic’s health
While all the headlines entering the season will revolve around Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, and rightfully so, I can’t help but speculate how important Jusuf Nurkic’s help will end up being for Phoenix.
One area of the roster construction that hurt the Suns’ last season was the lack of depth. And part of the reasoning behind moving Ayton revolved around that. But if Nurkic can’t stay healthy, this deal becomes a bust pretty quickly. Nurkic hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since the 2018-19 campaign.
I’d be concerned that Nurkic may not be as durable as Ayton was for Phoenix, and that could be a big problem for a championship-or-bust team that is thin in the frontcourt.
2. The Phoenix Suns lowered their ceiling
After pulling off the move for Bradley Beal during the offseason, there was an argument to be made that the Phoenix Suns were going to enter the season with the best top 4 players of any other team in the league. That’s no longer the case. And after making this deal, it does feel as if the Suns lowered their ceiling heading into the season.
In fairness, the Suns lowered their ceiling in hopes of raising their floor. That’s what, theoretically, added depth will do for Phoenix. However, that’s far from a guarantee. Looking at the return, I’m not sure there’s any one piece that sticks out. Sure, the headliner is Nurkic, but there remain some very real questions about not only his durability but about whether he can still be a consistently effective player at this point in his career.
There’s no question this is a huge gamble for Phoenix. This is a deal where they emerged less talented. I don’t think you can argue that they’re a more talented team today than they were yesterday. The hope is that the depth that they added makes up for the loss of talent at the top.
I’m not sure it does, though.
3. The Phoenix Suns have a small window to win a title before it gets ugly
There are many ways to break down this trade but from the Suns’ perspective, one thing has become abundantly clear with this deal – Phoenix has a small window to win the title and this deal shortened it. As soon as Kevin Durant’s prime ends, the Suns’ championship window will effectively be closed.
For as good as Devin Booker is, he isn’t at a place where he can lead a team to the promised land alone. And that’s not a knock on him, that’s the reality of today’s NBA. Bradley Beal is likely already past his prime and is on a pretty untradable contract (with a no-trade clause). KD will be 35 years old with the season begins. The Suns have no tradable draft picks for the foreseeable future.
This team is all-in, and likely not all-in for very long. It’s safe to say that the Suns have 2-3 years (if that) to win a title with this core. And if they don’t, the fallout will be bad. With no way to blow this team up other than trading Booker (which isn’t happening), or wait-out contracts, the Suns could find themselves in a very bad place in a couple of years.
Winning a title trumps all and it would all be worth it in the end, but in trading Deandre Ayton, the Suns pretty much burned their very last movable asset of value. This has to work for Phoenix. There’s really not much else they can do if it doesn’t.
No. 4. The Phoenix Suns may have given up too early on Deandre Ayton
Even though Deandre Ayton was quite disappointing for the Phoenix Suns last season, especially in the playoffs, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about trading away an incredibly talented big man at 25 years old. Let’s say it out loud: the Suns traded Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Grayson Allen, and Keon Johnson. Yikes. For as “bad” as Ayton was in spurts last season for Phoenix, this deal has to be the definition of taking pennies on the dollar for a former No. 1 overall pick.
Ayton averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds on 59 percent shooting from the field last season for Phoenix. He’s a good player whose trade value was in a bad place. Even though the Suns are all-in on winning a championship this season, this deal feels like it was rushed. After missing the opportunity to trade him at the NBA Draft or earlier in the offseason, it seems as if the Suns did this move just to get him off the team. And I can’t help but feel as if it might end up being a mistake.
Ayton is not a perfect player, far from that. But with the new coaching staff, with Frank Vogel at the helm, I think Phoenix may have missed an opportunity to give him a fresh start with the team.
No. 5. Trading Deandre Ayton was also a necessary evil
In the end, while I’d argue the Suns may have prematurely parted ways with Deandre Ayton, it was probably something that needed to be done. I don’t like rushing into this sort of deal in the long run for the Suns but it also makes some sense in the short term. The Suns are all-in for the next 2-3 seasons. I understand Phoenix not having the patience to take the wait-and-see approach on Ayton this season.
It may not end up working out but this is probably a move (in some iteration) that the Suns needed to pursue before the start of the season. Phoenix’s front office believed it needed depth more than it needed a consistent (perhaps somewhat underachieving) presence in the frontcourt. That’s fair. With the recent moves that the Suns have made, you have to trust the front office here.
Time will tell if Phoenix truly improved their roster, but you can’t fault them for attempting to plug the holes in their depth in an attempt to deliver a championship for the franchise. From a fan’s perspective, that’s what you want. If it doesn’t work out in the end, you can critique the Suns for many things. But one thing that you won’t be able to critique them for is the lack of effort.