The Deandre Ayton era in Phoenix is over.
The Suns traded Ayton to Portland as part of a three-team deal that sends Blazer All-Star Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, sources confirmed to The Arizona Republic on Wednesday afternoon.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first tweeted the news on Wednesday. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also confirmed the deal Wednesday.
Ayton averaged a double-double in his five seasons with the Suns, but the top overall pick in the 2018 draft was one of the team’s four max players, the other three being Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. , it was Bradley Beal.
With Ayton gone, Booker is the only Suns player to reach the Finals in 2020-21.
The Blazers will receive Bucks’ All-Star guard Jrue Holiday and a 2029 first-round pick, as well as Suns’ second-round pick Toumani Kamara and a trade pick for Ayton.
Deandre Ayton trade reaction:Suns, Damian Lillard, Bucks, Blazers add star players to their deals
The Suns acquired center Jusev Nurkic from the Blazers as part of a trade that included Nasir Little, Keon Johnson and Grayson Allen. Little and Johnson were from Portland, and Allen was in Milwaukee.
Nurkic will fill the hole left center for Phoenix in the Ayton trade. Nurkic is in the second year of a four-year, $70 million contract and is scheduled to make $16.8 million this season.
Ayton is the second on a four-year, $133 million contract with a signing bonus of $32.4 million.
Allen is in the final year of a two-year, $18.7 million contract as he will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 season. That means Allen is at the end of his contract, a situation that will help the Suns move forward financially.
Little is in the first year of a four-year, $28 million contract extension, while Johnson is on a four-year, $12.5 million contract.
Damian Lillard trade performance:Would the Suns, Bucks, or Blazers have won a trade that included Deandre Ayton?
The Blazers exercised their club option on Johnson for last season. Johnson will be a restricted free agent, with a club option for his final year in 2024-25.
Nurkic was teammates with Suns big Drew Eubanks, who played for the Blazers last season. The Suns signed Eubanks in the offseason.
![Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, 22, smiles after taking a half-court shot before the start of a game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco on March 13, 2023. Floated.](https://www.azcentral.com/gcdn/presto/2023/03/14/PPHX/21221484-5d88-405c-9422-af05b0922a27-USATSI_20224809.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Before the trade, the Suns had 15 standard players and two two-way players.
With two players going to Portland and Phoenix acquiring four players via trade, the Suns now have 17 players starting training camp starting Tuesday.
NBA teams must have 15 standard players in place just before the regular season begins. The Suns open the regular season on October 24th at Golden State.
The Suns are still over the second tax apron of $182.5 million, according to Spotrac, but the financial burden going forward will be lighter without Ayton.
(This is a developing story. Return to azcentral.com for updates).
Have an opinion on the current state of the Suns? Contact Suns Insider Duane Rankin. dmrankin@gannett.com Or contact us at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter). @Duane Rankin.
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