NBA Rumors - Deandre Ayton in proposed trade swap for Warriors sharpshooter
Following their second-round exit from the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Phoenix Suns are expected to shake things up. During the final games of the Phoenix Suns' second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Deandre Ayton saw his minutes begin to decrease as Jock Landale began to impress.
As such, Sports Illustrated's Ben Stinar has proposed a trade that would end Deandre Ayton's love/hate relationship with the Phoenix Suns while bringing back a sharpshooter.
Ok now that my warriors are out the playoffs should we trade Jordan poole and Jonathan Kuminga for Deandre Ayton https://t.co/Rsk8DYs6hG
Stinar's trade proposal would see Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole being swapped with Deandre Ayton via trade. When looking at their contracts, there is a $5 million difference between the two players.
On the proposed trade, Stiner said:
"The Suns are in need of guard depth, as Paul is 38 years old and has a lengthy injury history. Poole is only 23 years old and has played in all 94 games this season, so he is durable. He could be Paul's backup for a season or potentially replace the future Hall of Famer. On the other hand, the Warriors desperately need size (Ayton is 7'0"). No one on the roster is taller than 6'9", and they traded 2020 second-overall pick James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons during the season."
Jordan Poole is set to earn $27 million in the 2023-24 season, while Deandre Ayton will take home around $32 million. As such, the two teams would potentially need to expand the deal to incorporate an additional player or two to make the salary matching work.
Still, adding an additional ball-handler with deep shooting range could strengthen the Phoenix Suns' guard rotation, especially in terms of stretching the floor and playing an uptempo brand of basketball.
Jordan Poole addresses Draymond Green incident
During a May 15 exclusive from The Ringer's Logan Murdock, Jordan Poole discussed the infamous incident with Draymond Green. During the Golden State Warriors' pre-season, Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in the face, an incident that went viral around the NBA world.
my latest for the @ringer:
wrote about the great divide in golden state, and how the warriors plan to rectify its immediate future
theringer.com/nba/2023/5/15/…
However, the pair seemingly put their differences aside and continued to play together on the court. Yet, according to Poole, their relationship has been strictly business for the past season.
“I don’t have no answer for you,” Poole told Murdock. “Other than that, we was just on the court and teammates, and we were out there trying to win games...What I do recall saying at the beginning of the season is that, ‘We’re coming. We’re going to come out here. We’re going to play on the court. We’re going to try to win a championship.’ We were teammates. It’s just business, honestly. And that’s really all it was, it is, it has been. It’s just been business. It’s been basketball."
Poole struggled to make a significant impact during the playoffs, averaging 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. The sharpshooting guard also struggled to see his shot fall, converting just 34.1% of his field goal attempts and 25.4% of his perimeter shots.
As such, Jordan Poole may welcome the opportunity to have a change of scenery, especially if that change sees him playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in Phoenix.