Phoenix Suns shopping Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton?
Are the Phoenix Suns poised to shake up their roster — again?
Phoenix convincingly lost Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, 125-100, marking its second consecutive second-round playoff exit. With that, ESPN reported Friday that the Suns will gauge the trade market for point guard Chris Paul this offseason, while a Deandre Ayton trade is believed to be sought by both sides.
Paul, 38, missed Games 3-6 of the semifinal series due to a groin injury. He has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $120 million deal, but if Phoenix moves on from Paul before June 28, it can save roughly $15 million (according to Spotrac, only $15.8 million of Paul's 2023-24 salary is guaranteed).
On the other hand, Ayton, 24, signed a four-year, $133 million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers last offseason, which Phoenix matched. He missed Game 6 of the semifinal round due to a rib injury.
The report also noted that changes could be made within the front office and that head coach Monty Williams' job isn't entirely safe.
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Mat Ishbia officially bought the Suns from Robert Sarver in February. Just days later, Phoenix acquired superstar Kevin Durant and T.J. Warren from the Brooklyn Nets for forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round draft picks and one future first-round pick swap.
The Suns finished the regular season 45-37, good for fourth in the West. They defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in five games in Round 1.
Durant and Devin Booker combined to average 62.7 points per game in the playoffs. Across the seven games that Paul appeared in this postseason, he averaged 12.4 points, 7.4 assists, five rebounds and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 41.8/32.1/50.0. Ayton averaged 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 55% from the field across the 10 games that he appeared in this postseason.
Phoenix led the Dallas Mavericks 3-2 in last year's semifinal round before losing the final two games of the series, where it was outscored by a combined 60 points. The Suns lost Game 7 on their home court. The year prior, they blew a 2-0 series lead to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals.