Deandre Ayton’s game has seemingly fallen off

During that time, Phoenix has also seen back-to-back playoff exits in the second round.

Ayton's offensive touches have also decreased significantly after the Suns acquired Kevin Durant in a big trade around the February trade deadline. Many predict that the old Arizona Wildcat will soon be little more than a distant memory in the Valley because of this.

Since the previous summer, the Suns' direction has significantly shifted. mostly because Durant's acquisition has made Ayton far less important to the Suns' offence. That was shown during the 2023 playoffs when he had to split playing time with Suns reserve centre Jock Landale for a substantial portion of the game. Given that the Suns selected Landale as their first-round choice, it is natural that Ayton could feel a little irritated about playing time alongside the undrafted centre. It would be less stressful to replace Myles Turner with Ayton and stop trying to please everyone.