Pistons betting favorites to land Ayton
Deandre Ayton’s future in Phoenix appears to be up in the air.
So betonline.ag has put out odds for his next team if he doesn’t remain with the Suns with the Detroit Pistons atop the list at 1/1, followed by Orlando Magic at 2/1 and San Antonio Spurs at 3/1.
Indiana Pacers (4/1), Portland Trail Blazers (6/1), Oklahoma City (8/1), Houston Rockets (10/1), and Chicago Bulls (12/1) round out the list.
The Suns didn’t sign their starting big man to a rookie max extension or any extension at all heading into this season as Ayton entered the final year of his four-year rookie deal.
Now entering the offseason after losing Game 7 to Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals, Suns coach Monty Williams didn’t say much Monday when asked if Ayton is part of their long-term future.
“Deandre’s situation is something that we’ll deal with this summer,” Williams said. “I don’t want to say anything in regards to that.”
Williams and Ayton exchanged words in Sunday’s 123-90 loss when Williams took him out with 8:26 left in the third quarter.
The top-seeded Phoenix Suns were down 38 points, 70-32, when Williams put in Bismack Biyombo in place of Ayton, who didn’t return to the game.
So Ayton only played 3:34 in the second half.
When asked after Game 7 Sunday why Ayton only played 17 minutes in Game 7, Williams said “it’s internal.”
The Suns head coach stuck to his “internal” comment when asked Monday if he had talked to Ayton since Game 7 ended.
“No, we didn’t,” Williams said during Monday’s Zoom availability when asked if he and Ayton talked after the game. “You guys know me well enough, I’m going to do everything I can to help us win
games and at that point with the lead where it was, I made a decision not to put him back in the game.”
Ayton scored a playoff career-low five points on just 2-of-5 shooting.
“I’ll keep all the internal stuff internal, but it was just a decision that I made,” The 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year continued.
“And it also got to point I didn’t feel like (Chris Paul and Devin Booker) were going to help us on that particular night. I do understand the question, but no, we haven’t talked. I talked to the team Monday, but I have not talked to DA personally.”
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 class after a one-and-done season at Arizona, Ayton is a restricted free agent, meaning the Suns can match any offer from another team.
The Pistons finished with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference this season at 23-59. Only the Magic
(22-60) and Rockets (20-62) won fewer games.
The Suns could also do a sign-and-trade if they’re looking to part ways with Ayton and get some players in return as they could use another perimeter player who can score and get his own shot.
Ayton averaged 17.2 points on a career-high 63.4% shooting and 10.2 rebounds to mark averaging a doubledouble in every season of his NBA career.
He averaged 20.2 points on a roasted 70.3% shooting and 9.8 rebounds in 35 minutes a game in the first round against the Pelicans that ended in six games.
Phoenix won the series to advance to the conference semifinals to play the fourth-seeded Mavericks. In seven games against Dallas, Ayton averaged 15.7 points on 55.7% shooting and 8.1
rebounds in 26.6 minutes.