Mavs, Suns Held Advanced Draft Night Talks On Deandre Ayton Trade

The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks engaged in advanced discussions on a trade of Deandre Ayton during the draft before talks stalled, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack.

The trade would have sent Ayton to Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr., Richaun Holmes and JaVale McGee, but the Suns objected to the inclusion of McGee. Even though the Suns wouldn’t have acquired any future first round picks, they liked turning Ayton into two rotation players in Hardaway and Holmes.

Sources tell Stein that the talks could be resumed.

For now, the Suns reportedly are moving forward with Ayton on their roster. Ayton is represented by Bill Duffy, who also is the agent for Luka Doncic.

Beyond re-signing Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks have prioritized an upgrade at center this offseason. They previously engaged with the Atlanta Hawks on a trade for Clint Capela. Atlanta insisted on the Mavericks accepting John Collins instead, or adding Josh Green to the deal to include Capela. The Hawks moved on to a trade of Collins to the Utah Jazz on Monday.