NBA Rumors: Deandre Ayton 'Did Not Feel Valued' by Suns; Teams 'Lining Up' for Him

The Phoenix Suns' season ended in disappointment with Sunday's blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Deandre Ayton's future with the team that drafted him is now coming into question.

"Deandre Ayton did not feel valued by this Phoenix organization," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday. "... [He] is going to get a max contract in the marketplace, somewhere. ... There are a lot of teams lining up to figure out 'how can we acquire him?'"

Phoenix still has some control with the situation since Ayton is scheduled for restricted free agency this offseason. 

That would give the team the right to match any offer he receives, although a max-contract offer would put pressure on the Suns to decide if they want to pay him that much moving forward.

It wouldn't be a new question for the front office to consider.

In October, Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst reported Ayton wanted a max contract of five years and a guaranteed $172.5 million plus possible escalators. However, the two sides were unable to come to an agreement ahead of the deadline at the time with Phoenix never formally offering a max deal.

"The franchise center is unhappy with the franchise's consistent stance to his representatives that the organization simply didn't foresee him as a max player—regardless of which of his peers in the 2018 NBA Draft class earned max deals this offseason," Wojnarowski and Windhorst wrote.

A number of fellow 2018 draftees signed notable rookie extensions, including Luka Doncic and Trae Young:         

Ayton's future is once again a significant topic after he played just 17 minutes and finished with five points and four rebounds in Sunday's 123-90 loss. While the game was a blowout, it didn't stop Suns head coach Monty Williams from playing Devin Booker 37 minutes, Mikal Bridges 33 minutes and Chris Paul 31 minutes.

"It's internal," Williams told reporters when asked about Ayton's playing time after the game.

The big man didn't speak to reporters following the loss.

It is not surprising that other teams are apparently interested considering Ayton is just 23 years old and coming off a season in which he averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 63.4 percent from the floor. He is also playoff-tested and helped lead the Suns to the NBA Finals just last season.

Whether he returns could determine Phoenix's ceiling in 2022-23.