Restricted free agent Deandre Ayton‘s future with the Phoenix Suns is up in the air heading into the summer.
Prior to the start of the season, the Suns passed on signing rookie guard Deandre Ayton to a contract extension.
After more than a decade out of the luxury tax, Phoenix can match whatever deal Ayton signs in free agency, but doing so at the maximum amount he demands would put Phoenix into the tax for the first time in more than a decade.
Why Deandre Ayton and Suns couldn’t agree on contract extension
With Ayton entering the last year of his rookie contract, he’ll be a restricted free agency this summer after the Suns failed to sign him to either a rookie max extension or any other kind of extension at all.
“We’re disappointed. We wanted a max contract. He went out and was a soldier 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. Things will work out for Deandre. 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.“”””
Deandre Ayton’s agent to SiriusXM NBA Radio
