Pacers, Blazers exploring potential Deandre Ayton trade with Suns
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Soon after the Phoenix Suns were underwhelmingly eliminated from postseason contention mid-way through last week, rumblings started to surface suggesting that major shakeups could be coming to the organization and that big man Deandre Ayton could find himself being shopped on the trade market this coming summer.
Despite his admission of being content with remaining part of the franchise moving forward, trade chatter has only seemed to have gotten louder as time has gone by and, recently, it has come to light that both the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers are looking into the 24-year-old’s availability, per a report by Hoops Wire’s Sam Amico.
“The Suns are likely to reach out to the Pacers about a potential trade centered on Ayton, sources said. Indiana signed Ayton to an offer sheet last summer, prompting the Suns to match and keep him. The Blazers may be among the teams interested in Ayton, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Portland was linked to Ayton last summer when he was a restricted free agent,” Amico wrote.
As mentioned in the report, both teams have shown an interest in bringing on Deandre Ayton in the past, with the Pacers coming the closest to doing so as they inked him to a four-year, $133 million offer sheet last summer (the biggest in NBA history) before the Suns ultimately matched it.
Now, after an up-and-down campaign, it appears Phoenix is living to regret their decision to match while the rebuilding Pacers are still open to the idea of a partnership with the former number-one overall pick.
Deandre Ayton finished off his fifth season in the association with solid per-game averages of 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and just shy of a block per contest while shooting 58.9% from the field.
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