NBA rumors: Mavs named possible Deandre Ayton trade suitor, but with a catch

The Mavs have limited avenues to pursue a potential Deandre Ayton trade with the Suns, which may necessitate the involvement of Kyrie Irving.

The fates of the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns seem like they'll be intertwined for years to come. This intertwinement began in 2004, when the Mavs let Steve Nash walk for nothing in free agency, and it continued in 2018, when the Suns drafted Deandre Ayton first overall instead of pairing Devin Booker with Luka Doncic.

Ayton has had his moments in a Suns uniform, but given the embarrassing nature of their latest playoff defeat not even a year after they crapped the bed against the Mavs in the same playoff round, wholesale changes may soon come for the Phoenix franchise.

Given the Suns' lack of assets following their blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant, it seems like any potential change for the Suns this offseason will have to involve Deandre Ayton's departure. And according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com and Jake Fischer of Yahoo!, the Mavs are a team that's willing to take on Ayton's hefty contract that runs until 2026.

Nevertheless, the Mavs don't necessarily have the assets to entice the Suns into giving up Ayton. One avenue that a league executive brought up with Deveney necessitates the involvement of a Kyrie Irving sign-and-trade towards the Suns. However, given how the Durant and Irving partnership ended up during their time together with the Brooklyn Nets, Durant may not be too “crazy” about the idea of teaming up with the mercurial point guard once more.

Knowing that, the Mavs may then pivot to discussing trade scenarios that involve sending out the likes of Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Reggie Bullock towards the Suns. However, in trading away Deandre Ayton, Phoenix will want to acquire more quality pieces than those that the Mavs can offer. Ayton has plenty of faults, but he's still a quality starting center who may have something more to give.

Whatever the case may be, it's clear that an upheaval is soon to come for the Suns. With their draft pick cupboard bare following the Kevin Durant trade, they will feel the pressure to contend year-in, year-out, and it's certainly looking like this core with Ayton has run its course.