Following the end of the Suns‘ season, center Deandre Ayton, point guard Chris Paul, and head coach Monty Williams were the three names that came up most frequently in speculation about major changes, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
The Suns have already parted ways with one of those three, announcing late on Saturday that that Williams had been let go from his position. While Ayton or Paul could be next, neither player suggested during Friday’s end-of-season exit interviews with the media that he’s seeking an exit ramp out of Phoenix.
“I love Phoenix, man,” Ayton said, per Rankin. “I’m going to continue playing hard for Phoenix and keep representing. I don’t listen to the outside noise. I’m here, I’m happy. We didn’t finish how we wanted to, but there’s always next year. This summer is just more work.”
Ayton is under contract for three more seasons, but is considered a possible trade candidate. Paul has a $30.8MM salary for 2023/24, but it’s only partially guaranteed for $15.8MM.
“My contract is not up,” Paul said when asked if he expected to remain with the Suns. “Unfortunately, I’m not the GM or anything like that. We’ll see.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Doug Haller of The Athletic takes a closer look at why Mat Ishbia and the Suns decided to move on from Williams, discussing the coach’s lineup and rotation decisions and his shaky relationship with Ayton, among other factors. Within his story, Haller observes that Ishbia’s involvement in the Williams’ dismissal signals that the new owner intends to be very involved in basketball operations and personnel decisions.
- Before firing Williams, the Suns had already started to make some organizational changes, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that the team fired a front office executive and a pair of scouts on Friday.
- Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports profiles a handful of contenders to replace Williams on the Suns’ bench, including previously reported head coaching candidates like Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse, and Kevin Young. Bourguet thinks the team would be wise to consider Frank Vogel too, but views Tyronn Lue as the best fit if he’s attainable.
I know the Suns didn’t have much time with Booker, Durant and CP3 together, but the offense in the series against Denver was too stagnant. 80% of it was isolation plays for Booker and Durant. No ball movement or players moving without the ball.
I think the CP3 era is done, but Jokic proved that this team needs Ayton.
A healthy CP3 and a coherent system would have helped. Idk why it can’t be constant CP3 and Ayton PnR then use Booker and Durant as C&S guys but then 2ndary action with Booker or Durant going 1v1. That’s the better of both worlds than just going iso.
“This summer is just more work.”. Unfortunately, Ayton has NEVER shown that he works in the off-season. He chills out, plays video games, and smokes ganja. If he really DID try to improve his game, he would come into camp with a new move or a new skill. He’s NEVER done that. He’s really good at saying the right things, but there’s never any follow-up.
Ownership is gonna club this window. There’s a reason Durant wanted to go to phoenix, and now they’re considering drastic changes. I don’t know if it’s a Durant thing, or just ownership just wanting to put their touches on the roster but i don’t have much hope this will end any better than the Nets decisions.
Suns biggest issue is Chris and depth. I just don’t believe they would trade Ayton. Especially after firing the coach. Owner has the right to change it up. I just wonder what the real stories are. Suns window is now. So They should already be planning this out.
“Unfortunately I’m not the GM” says Paul… wonder if this is a deeper statement than it appears to be on the surface