KEY POINTS

  • Chris Paul believes that Suns fans should not be worried about the Deandre Ayton extension talks
  • Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that the Suns are hesitant to offer him a max deal
  • Suns player Mikal Bridges is also up for an extension this season

Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul reassured the team’s fans that there is nothing to worry about regarding the Deandre Ayton situation.

Paul spoke with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on First Take and had this to say regarding the Ayton situation.

“I’m not concerned, I’m not concerned. That’s the business side of the game, you know,” Paul cooly told the sports personality.

“Those contract talks happen. Players, agents, all that stuff. Hopefully, that stuff takes care of itself so we can get back to playing and doing what we do.”

NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the news that talks stalled after the Suns were reluctant to offer a maximum rookie contract extension to their 2018 first overall pick.

Suns fans fully believe that Ayton is worth the max contract after his stellar performance last season, highlighted by his game-winning dunk over Ivica Zubac in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic echoed Paul’s sentiments as the Suns could just be inquiring whether Ayton would be willing to take less than the max to help facilitate the extension of fellow draft classmate Mikal Bridges.

“Maybe this reported contract impasse is no reason for angst. Maybe the Suns are just checking to see if they can re-sign Ayton for less, and will give him the max deal when they realize they can’t,” he wrote.

Many believe that Bridges will be getting an extension in the ballpark like that of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

The All-Star point guard also mentioned Bridges in his appearance on First Take, complimenting him for playing such a big role in the Suns’ surprising run to the NBA title.

“Man, we learned so much. We lost to a good team, a good [Milwaukee] Bucks team,” Paul told Smith in the same interview.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of things that I feel I could have done better, things that we could have done better as a team. But you learn from it, and you move on.”

The Suns are coming off a 117-105 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and are currently 1-1 as they face the Lakers again on October 10 at the Staples Center.

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