Why The Phoenix Suns Do The Deal 

Partly, the Suns do this deal because they’ve got buyer’s remorse over Ayton’s contract extension. 

If anything, Ayton is a difficult player to put a price point on. He’s great at what he does, but he’s limited. The Suns may well decide that they’d prefer to replace him with at cost. They could target a player like Nerlens Noel or Dwight Powell in free agency this summer and hardly skip a beat. 

Particularly if they’re adding a player like Rozier. He serves two purposes here. Firstly, he gives the Suns an elite sixth man. Rozier can carry this second unit in a way no current Sun can. 

Moreover, he could be a long-term replacement for Chris Paul. Obviously, these are very different players, but the point holds.

NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns & Charlotte Hornets Updates

The Suns are landing a starting caliber point guard just as their current starter is beginning to age out of his impactfulness. 

That’s smart – even if they’ve got to move a solid big man to do it.