Deandre Ayton Trade Rumors: Suns C 'Definitely Not' On Block Despite Lack of Contract

Deandre Ayton's contract status will hang over the Phoenix Suns all season, but that doesn't mean the reigning Western Conference champions are looking to move on from their young center. 

Per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, one NBA general manager said an Ayton trade is "definitely not" on the table at this point. 

"The Suns still have a lot of the leverage in this," the GM added. "But if they really don’t think the situation is going to change, then, yeah, they’d have to consider maybe making a move sooner than later."

The Suns and Ayton were unable to agree to terms on a rookie extension before Monday's 6 p.m. ET deadline. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, Ayton was holding out for a five-year max extension that would have been worth $172.5 million plus escalators. 

Wojnarowski and Windhorst noted the Suns "raised the concept" of a short-term max deal, but the Suns never made a formal offer. 

There are now multiple scenarios in play next offseason. The most likely is the Suns extending a qualifying offer to Ayton, making him a restricted free agent. They would have the ability to match any potential offer sheet he receives from another club. 

It's not implausible that the Suns would decline to extend Ayton a qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent. It doesn't seem likely, especially given his age (23) and how important he was to their playoff run last season. 

Ayton was selected No. 1 overall by the Suns in the 2018 NBA draft. He has averaged 15.9 points on 58.7 percent shooting and 10.6 rebounds per game in 180 career games.

The Arizona alum improved his defensive performance last season. His 3.1 defensive win shares in 2020-21 nearly matched his total from the previous two seasons combined (3.3), per Basketball-Reference.com.