NBA Rumors: Wizards' Deandre Ayton Request Was Rejected by Suns in Beal Trade Talks
The Phoenix Suns were able to land Bradley Beal in a deal without giving up starting center Deandre Ayton even though the Washington Wizards reportedly wanted him included.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix, Washington asked for Ayton during trade discussions but the Suns remained "unwilling to include him."
Instead, they gave up Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and first-round pick swaps to acquire Beal, Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd in a deal that is being finalized, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
That Phoenix was apparently adamant about keeping Ayton, who it selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, is notable considering his future with the team wasn't always a surefire thing.
The Suns never offered him a max contract before he became a restricted free agent during the 2022 offseason and instead didn't respond until the Indiana Pacers agreed to a four-year, $133 million offer sheet with the big man.
Phoenix ended up matching it, but it was fair to wonder how much the franchise valued him if it waited until the Pacers made such a move.
Then there was Ayton's relationship with former head coach Monty Williams, which was consistently under the spotlight as the team failed to get over the hump during recent championship pursuits.
However, Phoenix fired Williams this offseason and has since hired Frank Vogel as its next head coach. It also has an impressive Big Three to build around in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Beal following this agreed upon trade, and the team is in championship-or-bust mode at this point.
That is what made keeping Ayton all the more important.
Depth is already a concern for the Suns, and losing the double-double threat would have only exacerbated that reality. While Ayton hasn't always lived up to his billing as a No. 1 pick, he has averaged 16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game through his first five seasons and will need to anchor the frontcourt if the team is going to live up to expectations.
The front office clearly felt that wasn't worth losing even in a move to acquire Beal.
