The Suns had the opportunity to sign center Deandre Ayton to a max contract extension ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season. However, the two sides couldn't agree to a deal, meaning that the former No. 1 overall pick played the season in the final year of his rookie contract.
As a result, Ayton will be a restricted free agent during the 2022 NBA offseason. The 23-year-old big man should have plenty of suitors on the open market considering that he has averaged a double-double during each of his four NBA seasons to date.
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That said, while Ayton still has a chance to land a max contract, his agent Bill Duffy admitted that he was a bit irked that the Suns hadn't offered one to his client before the season.
"We’re disappointed. We wanted a max contract," Duffy said on Sirius XM's NBA Radio show. "He went out and was a solider the whole year, played well, improved his statistics. So, we’re proud of him. A lot of guys handle things differently, but he was very mature about it."
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Duffy also pointed out that Ayton helped lead the Suns to their best season in franchise history. Phoenix logged a team-best 64-18 record during the 2021-22 season and was the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference entering the playoffs.
Phoenix had a disappointing exit in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Mavericks. However, Duffy called that outing — a game in which Ayton played just 17 minutes before being benched — "an anomaly" that was driven by a hot performance from Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
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As such, he isn't worried about teams backing away from Ayton as a result of the benching.
"Things will work out for Deandre," Duffy said. "He’s a valuable player. There’s other teams in the league as well. He’s a restricted free agent, so we’ll see how this process unfolds."
The Suns will have an opportunity to match any contract extension offer that Ayton signs. We'll soon see if that impacts his ability to land a max contract or if any offer sheet that he signs will sway Phoenix to let him walk or execute a sign-and-trade.
