Phoenix Suns star Deandre Ayton didn't sign a contract extension, and he doesn't seem too happy about it. Ayton wanted a full five-year max extension, but that was never put on the table. The Suns youngster didn't speak to the media for a second straight day after failing to come to terms on an extension.
You know who did speak to the media? Ayton's agents and Suns general manager James Jones.
The Athletic's Sam Amick got both perspectives on these negotiations, and it's no surprise that there are competing narratives at play here.
Jones claims a three-year max or four-year max were options for Ayton, which was reported by ESPN, but he also says there were no “real negotiations.”
Ayton's agents, Bill Duffy and Nima Namakian, claim a max offer of any kind was never offered. They say “the organization’s unmistakable message from Sarver on down was that Ayton wasn’t viewed as worthy of a max deal.”
The Suns general manager's response was this: “They know that a three- or four-year max was not an (acceptable) option for them.”
While the hope is Ayton will ultimately get over this slight and ball out this season in order to earn his max next offseason, it's understandable for him to be hurt by this. He saw teammates Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet get extensions but not him. The big man sacrificed his personal numbers for the good of the team this past season and blossomed into a terrific two-way big man for an NBA Finals squad. He saw other members of his draft class get max deals despite some of them not being as decorated as him.
There would have been some risks to giving Ayton a full max, and Jones noted those (including an interesting trade wrinkle), but it still feels like a miss not to get something done now with a Suns cornerstone. Jones and the Suns still believe in Ayton and want him around for the long haul, but there will need to be some relationship repairing here.
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