Monday’s deadline for NBA teams to come to an agreement on rookie contract extensions with their 2018 first-rounders came and went without the Suns and center Deandre Ayton reaching a deal.
Ayton wanted the five-year maximum extension received by classmates Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Michael Porter Jr., but the Suns weren’t willing to offer him a max, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
This means the reigning Western Conference champions’ window to compete could be coming to a close sooner than it has to.
As the 2021-22 season tips off Tuesday, Phoenix has +1500 odds on Tipico Sportsbook to finish the season as champions, tied for seventh-best with the Denver Nuggets. If the Suns don’t find a way to retain one of the brightest young centers in the NBA, one whose full potential still may not have been discovered, those odds are probably as good as it ever gets.
ESPN Sources: Suns talks with Deandre Ayton on rookie extension have ended — without a deal. Ayton expected max contract and owner Robert Sarver hasn’t offered it. More coming on consequences for failing to reach deal with 2018 No. 1 overall pick. NBA Today debut, ESPN2. Now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 18, 2021
With an aging Chris Paul again leading the charge, the Suns were going to play this season with a sense of urgency anyway. But the expectation was that Phoenix would have a core of Ayton, Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges — who did receive a rookie extension — to continue building around once Paul’s time in the desert comes to an end.
The Suns and owner Robert Sarver, evidently, don’t view Ayton as a max player, however, and the sides’ failure to reach a deal has left the big man feeling slighted.
“I love Phoenix, but I’m really disappointed we haven’t really gotten a deal done yet,” Ayton said last week about the negotiations. “We were two wins away from winning a championship and I just really want to be respected, to be honest. To be respected like my peers are being respected by their teams.”
Deandre Ayton addresses contract talks, saying he's "disappointed" a deal hasn't gotten done and he wants to be respected like his peers as ESPN reported last week contract talks were stalled over getting rookie max extension. #Suns pic.twitter.com/XVtj06fojN
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 12, 2021
Now without a deal, Ayton can enter restricted free agency next summer and sign an offer sheet with another team, if he so chooses. Phoenix could match the deal, something it may be more inclined to do if he continues to build on his stellar playoff showing last season, but the team would be doing so at the risk of retaining a disgruntled star who no longer wants to be there.
Or, Ayton could decline restricted free agency by signing a one-year qualifying offer to play out the 2022-23 season in Phoenix and become an unrestricted free agent the following summer. Phoenix, fresh off a 10-year playoff drought, would lose him for nothing and potentially be rebuilding all over again barring a big move in free agency. Instead of competing for the next 5-10 years, Phoenix’s run could come to an end very soon.