It looks like the Phoenix Suns and Deandre Ayton will not reach an agreement on a contract extension before the upcoming deadline. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports negotiations have come to an end with no deal because the Suns haven't put the max offer Ayton wants on the table.
Ayton played a key role in getting the Suns to the NBA Finals last season, and he expected to be paid handsomely as a cornerstone of the franchise. Instead, Suns owner Robert Sarver hasn't offered a max, leaving the situation in an awkward spot. The young center recently expressed his disappointment in the negotiations, and he's surely not going to be thrilled assuming there's no last-second max offer.
The Suns just signed Mikal Bridges to a four-year, $90 million contract extension, so they at least locked up one of their key core players this offseason. But not paying up for Ayton right now is certainly an interesting move after reaching the NBA Finals.
Ayton was one of the breakout stars of the last playoffs. While his overall numbers in the regular season and postseason were a bit down from his numbers in the 2019-20 regular season, his impact was massive on one of the best teams in the league. He's just 23 years old with more upside after going No. 1 overall in 2018.
The young big man will likely be professional about the situation and bring it during the season as Phoenix tries to return to the Finals to finish the job. The Suns also will have the ability to pay him next offseason, including having the chance to match an offer sheet if he signs one.
Still, it seems like it should have been a no-brainer to just get a deal done now. We'll see how this plays out.
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