Wizards asked for Deandre Ayton in Bradley Beal trade, Suns said no

As more details emerge from Sunday’s trade that will send Bradley Beal to the Suns for a package centered around Chris Paul, it turns out the Washington Wizards had their eyes on another Phoenix starter.

The Wizards asked for center Deandre Ayton as part of a deal for Beal, but Phoenix was unwilling to include the 2018 No. 1 pick, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

The trade, as has been reported, involves Beal, guard Jordan Goodwin and forward Isaiah Todd heading to the Suns for Paul, Landry Shamet, an unreported number of second-round picks and a picks swap.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that multiple teams have since reached out to the Suns regarding Ayton’s availability.

“One thing that has happened since this trade is Phoenix has been getting a lot of calls on Deandre Ayton in the last 12-18 hours,” Charania told The Pat McAfee Show (clip contains expletives). “Teams are seeing if now Deandre Ayton is a little more attainable. We’ll see if he’s going to be back on the team or not next year.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski last Friday called the market for Ayton “lean” while on with The Ryen Russillo Podcast, but the landscape has since changed.

Ayton is entering his second season of a four-year, $133 million contract that Phoenix matched last offseason. He signed an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers as a restricted free agent.

The Suns have experienced a lot of change from owner Mat Ishbia to the Kevin Durant trade, firing Monty Williams for head coach Frank Vogel and now adding Beal.

Ayton is a potential asset to continue morphing the team in another vision, or Phoenix could start him alongside Durant, Beal and Devin Booker as part of a new nucleus.

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