The Phoenix Suns and Deandre Ayton have failed to agree to a contract extension by the deadline.
They agreed for four-year deals with their two other extension-eligible players, Mikal Bridges ($90 million) and Landry Shamet ($43 million), but declined to offer Ayton the maximum-level extension ($172+ million) that his representatives requested and was widely seen in NBA circles as a ‘given’.
As much as I love Mikal Bridges, he was not nearly as impactful in the playoffs as Ayton was. And Shamet, as good as he looks in preseason, is a 4th guard who has already been traded three times in his three-year career and has not even played a game for the Suns yet.