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HOW SHOULD PHOENIX HANDLE THE DEANDRE AYTON SITUATION?

As we know, the 64 win Phoenix Suns lost to the Dallas Mavericks in an embarrassing game 7 recently. And with everyone including Deandre Ayton underperforming and even getting benched only playing 17 minutes in a game 7, with Ayton being a restricted free agent it begs the question what should Phoenix do? First overall pick in 2018 and is a good big man he is expected to get a huge payday, at least somewhere. 

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LET AYTON WALK

This would be the least likely decision if I am Suns GM James Jones, but I would not be surprised. Teams like San Antonio and Portland will have max slots open ready to "bid" on Ayton as soon as free agency starts and offer him the most money possible. We also have to remember, per Adrain Wojnarowski of ESPN, Ayton does not feel valued by the Suns organization. So Ayton good and well may not want to resign with the organization, and seek elsewhere. This would obviously be the worst case scenario for Phoenix as Ayton would be a huge loss to let go with no return. Luckily for Phoenix he is a restricted free agent so they will have some chance. But given the bitter taste that game 7 most likely left in Ayton's mouth I would not be surprised if he walked. Playing with a point guard like Chris Paul you're always going to just be a "run, jump, and dunk" type big men and obviously Ayton has a lot more to his game he could tap into most likely on a different team with more opportunity.

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SIGN AND TRADE

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, there are a lot of teams lining up to figure out how they can acquire the big man. Now I should say Ayton would  have to agree to sign and trade obviously, and with how his relationship looks with Phoenix there’s no guarantee he would agree to such. But this is the second best option for Phoenix in my opinion, with them likely getting a good return for the former Wildcat. Despite the bad game 7 it should still be expected Ayton to have great trade value especially this offseason. For a young team or a contender. Gauging Ayton's trade market will be very interesting. Also for Ayton if he did agree to a sign and trade, it could be a best for both sides situation him going somewhere with more opportunities and him still giving his good and close teammates Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges a good player in return.

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AYTON RESIGNS TO A MAX

Back in October, it was reported that Phoenix and Ayton could not agree on a 5YR/$172.5M dollar contract with possible escalators. How it looks right now I think Ayton would only agree to stay with the Phoenix under one condition: he gets featured more in the offense. It begs the question does Phoenix just see Ayton as a young JaVale McGee or a former no.1 overall pick oozing with potential. I am not saying he needs to be the Suns primary option but he surely needs to be more than just a run, jump, and dunk big man. Chris Paul is 37 and is only getting older and will not be that aggressive on offense enough to really be a consistent no.2 option especially all season and deep into a postseason as we've seen this season. The problem with Phoenix is the lack of shot creation outside of Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and Jason Kidd and the Mavericks exploited that beautifully after game 2 of the series. More plays will need to be drawn up for Ayton. Chris Paul also is not going to be on the Suns in 10 years probably, come that time it should be Booker and Ayton's team. So Phoenix and Ayton will need to think longterm though they are currently in a win now situation with Chris Paul. I think this whole Ayton situation can be resolved between Phoenix and Ayton and they should look to resign him. But if Phoenix really wants to go all the way in and does not want to feature Ayton more than he is currently then he most likely will be traded or walk. On the other hand though if Ayton does stay and he gets more plays for him, he will need to execute and consistently be aggressive. All in all Phoenix obviously just got embarrassed by Dallas with their lack of adjustments all series and Ayton not being more dominant past game 2 but if I am the Suns I should be trying to keep Ayton, for the now and longterm.