NBA Trade Rumors: Deandre Ayton still trending to be traded by Phoenix Suns

NBA Trade Rumors: Heading into the offseason, Deandre Ayton is still a player that is expected to be traded by the Phoenix Suns.

Officially a few weeks removed from their elimination by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, this is probably the more appropriate time to take a step back and truly evaluate what the next step is for the Phoenix Suns.

Led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the Suns are a team that many are going to be expected to emerge as one of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference. And now that the team has hired its new head coach, Frank Vogel, the big focus heading into the offseason will revolve around roster construction.

The Suns can’t seemingly bring the same exact team from last year and you’d have to assume that some changes are going to take place. One player that could end up being part of those possible roster changes is Deandre Ayton. He’s arguably the team’s third-best player but doesn’t seem to fit as an ideal third star next to KD and Booker.

Because of that, he is a natural trade candidate heading into the offseason. And according to a recent report, Ayton is still trending toward being moved by the Suns this offseason.

The possible trade market for Deandre Ayton

If the Suns do move forward with trading Ayton, it would be interesting to see what his potential value would be on the trade market. Ayton is just 24 years old and is coming off a season in which he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game on 59 percent shooting from the field.

The only real concern about possibly trading for Ayton revolves around his contract. And, quite frankly, that could end up being a huge hurdle toward a potential deal this offseason.

Ayton is locked up for the next three seasons, due $101 million over that span. That’s a lot of money to eat up for a player that can’t seem to excel as a third option for the Suns. That has to be considered as at least somewhat concerning.

And if the Suns are looking to find tangible value in return, there are reasons why Phoneix could run into trouble in trying to trade him this summer.

Then again, all it takes is one team to be high on Ayton. One team that believes they can be the one to get him back on the right track. One team that believes he’s somewhat of the missing piece.

The question is, will that one team also be the one that has what the Suns are looking for in  a potential return?