They better hope Paul holds up over the next 3 years because that's pretty much their window for contention. I'm still confused as to why they gave Shamet an extension but I guess $10 million a season isn't a bad deal.
Yeah was gonna say something like this. Suns have no reason why they must give him a deal right now. This is the whole purpose of restricted free agency.
Ayton is definitely better than Capela…he averaged 14 and 10 which isn’t impressive, but that’s because he took more of a backseat…he’s very skilled and very efficient PHX will pay CP3, Bridges, and even freaking Shamet, but hold the bag for Ayton? I’d be pissed if I’m Deandre
If he wants to live and play for the Charlotte… i mean does that make a difference if you earn 20 or 30 mil a year…. You turn maybach to phantom… yacht for a bigger yacht… i mean what does it change in your life. Its more important to be happy
MPJ is way better than Ayton. There are 2 players in nba history with that kinda size and shooting touch. one is KD the other is MPJ. He's gonna be star\MVP level player unless he gets hurt. MPJ has top 10 player potential. Ayton is lucky to be the 10th best Center in the league.
Since he has a QA next Summer, he'll be a RFA right? I don't see any reason why the Suns should really move if they are just that far apart. For the Suns I sort of get being queasy about 5 years with Ayton. At his size, I would be a bit concerned about how valuable he'll be in a few years when his athleticism declines a bit. With the game changing, he was able to stay on the floor in smaller lineups because of that athleticism to guard guys like Giannis. In a few years I don't know if he'll playing at the end of games when teams go small. At the same time though, I know Mark Cuban (whether he'd admit it or not) would now pay to bring back the role players from his championship team. He was banking on Dwight, and then DeAndre signing the next couple of years, and that never happened. Overpaying for Tyson Chandler knowing that he'd be irrelevant for the last few years of his deal would have been worth it in order to bring Dirk back to the finals the following year vs what happened. If the Suns have a chance to go to the finals again this year, and Ayton is that important then you pay to bring him back. Since he's still on the team though and the only risk is him sulking.... eh.... I would try to work with his agent, but I wouldn't break the bank unless I felt I had to.
Then the Rockets would sign him to an extension and you would have an unbelievable uproar around here because you can never do that during a rebuild!
They are in the driver’s seat. They might be completely comfortable hovering him the max. If so, all they have to do is match when he signs with another team.
It's not a huge deal if they're not maxing out Ayton at this point in time. What might be troublesome is, as per James Jones' statements: You're paying almost everyone else BIG money in pursuit of a title. It's one thing not to pay a foundational piece big money, if that piece has obvious flaws. Ayton can't create his own shot and needs others to get him the ball. However, it's another to throw around big money to role players. Everyone can look at CP3 and Booker, but Ayton was the biggest reason why the Suns' playoff run was so deep. Booker and CP3 both had some trash games in the playoffs. Ayton was the most consistent player.
MPJ has more potential, yes, but he's not "way better" than Ayton and this is coming from an MPJ fan. If Porter can command a max contract based on future potential (while also excluding/forgetting the fact that this kid had back surgery in college), then a player like Ayton (whose been durable since his rookie season) can also merit a max contract because he contributes on the offensive end when needed (hits free throws at a high clip for a center, finishes around the basket, etc.) and he's a pretty good defender who also has room to grow/improve. Giving a 23 year old center that can anchor your defense and also give you 20/10 isn't the end of the world when teams are deploying the max to at least 2 players on their roster. The unfortunate part for Ayton is that he's below the financial pecking order with Paul and Booker at the top in Phoenix.
This. I don't have an issue with Bridges' extension because he's very good but when you're paying $6 million for Payne, $10 for Shamet, $10 for Crowder....it starts to add up. Sure you need depth and quality players but it's not like they don't already have Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Saric on your payroll as well.
Well in years past he would have gotten a max easy, but everyone knows the NBA has shifted to more of a perimeter oriented league. MPJ plays a premium position and is already a better scorer than Ayton. He has the tools to be one of the best and most efficient scorers in the league. Ayton is just another dude. Like 90% of his points come off feeds from CP3. Deandre Jordan has proven how easy it is to play with CP3, cuz he's been absolute trash ever since he left the Clippers. And Ayton isn't even as good as a defender or rebounder as Deandre. I am glad teams are getting smart and not offering him the Max. He's nowhere close to a Max player. I never understood how he got drafted number 1. He wasn't even that good in college. In their most important tournament game he was basically invisible. He just didn't have star potential and still doesn't. No elite level athelticism. He's basically just average at everything.
I think you're underselling Ayton if you're willing to compare him to DeAndre Jordan so let's just agree to disagree on Ayton. Also, I don't know if using college performance as evidence for this specific conversation is effective considering Porter played only 3 games in college before he was shut down due to his back while Ayton averaged 20/10 at Arizona. If we want to move the chains and go back to their high school days, MPJ was ranked 2nd in the country and right behind him was Ayton so it's not like Ayton came out of nowhere.
A team spends time trying to cultivate a great team culture while drafting and developing players all in pursuit to win a title. Now that the Suns have one of the best PGs in NBA history, a top 5 SG and an extremely solid C, they don't lock up the C long-term. Suns gonna Suns, I guess. Apparently, Ayton's scoring was down last season because Monty Williams asked him to dial it back to focus on other areas for the betterment of the team, as a whole. Now, Ayton is getting punished for not stat-padding and getting gaudy stats like a Doncic or Trae. Only one of those 3 players have made it to the Finals and shown consistency. And it's neither Luka nor Trae. It's a perimeter oriented league, but to win a title, you need balance. Notable big men / non-perimeter oriented big men in recent memory: Ayton, Giannis, AD, Bam, Marc Gasol, Draymond. Without those dudes, those teams aren't competitive. It's not easy to plug in "just another dude" and expect that CP3, Booker and all those role players you extended will get it done. Not signing Ayton now saves you money, I guess, but you risk a fractured relationship.
