Today, the protracted Ayton farce comes to an end, but the ending is disappointing. The Pacers offered the largest invitation contract in history, but the Suns revealed their true intentions in the subsequent match, and Ayton stayed with the Suns. Judging from the subsequent seri

Today, the protracted Ayton farce comes to an end, but the ending is disappointing. The Pacers offered the largest invitation contract in history, but the Suns revealed their true intentions in the subsequent match. Ayton stayed with the Suns. Judging from the subsequent series of chain reactions, the storm is not over yet. The big question is obviously: Can the Solar keep a carefree Ayton?

Ayton has a strong desire to leave the Suns, which has been repeatedly verified during this offseason. At first, Pistons led the battle for Ayton. Even in the media's description, Detroit had cleaned the room and was just waiting for Ayton to move in. Seeing this, Ayton also expressed his willingness to play with Cade Cunningham; and today, after the Pacers offered the largest invitation contract in history of 4 years and 133 million, it was also reported that Ayton was interested in playing with Harry News about Burton playing with . Ayton's inner thoughts are clearly revealed after continuously showing his favor to his next team.

From this point of view, the Suns kept Ayton in a roundabout way, and it is conceivable that the latter was unhappy. Moreover, the speed with which the Suns made the matching decision also shows that they have already made plans and are just waiting for this moment to come. Someone once joked: "The Suns were coy when renewing Ayton's contract, but they didn't even frown when they renewed Booker's contract." However, this time the Suns matched the Pacers' offer, but they seemed to have given Booker 4 His demeanor when he received a super maximum salary of 224 million per year.

The plan the Suns have already prepared is a four-year maximum salary contract. According to US media calculations, through matching, the Suns saved US$5.5 million. Although this allows them to join the tax-paying army for the first time since 2010, the teams that are stimulated by the Warriors' high investment and high output to win the championship again this year, and who can still catch a glimpse of the corner of the O'Brien Cup, also understand that saving money is not the way to win the championship.

Looking back at the Ayton farce at the moment when the Suns decided to match, we can clearly see the true mentality of the Suns' top management: Ayton must stay, but the price must be lowered, because Ayton is "not worthy" of the five-year maximum salary. Ever since Suns owner Sarver made a statement during the 2021 offseason, Ayton, the No. 1 pick, failed to catch up with the 2018 contract renewal wave. The three words "you don't deserve it" have been with Ayton until today.

Of course, the sun has gone around in such a big circle and ended up like this, so doubts from the outside world are inevitable. Some people ridiculed after the Suns matched: "After a long time of hard work, how much money did you think you saved, but it turned out to be only more than 5 million?" What more people are confused about is that for a mere more than 5 million and a one-year contract, , the Suns severely offended the number one pick they selected and trained, making the same mistake that the Thunder's top brass made against Harden in the 2012 offseason. Is it a good deal?

In the final analysis, as mentioned above, 133 million in four years is the true price of Ayton in the minds of Suns executives. Although the savings are not much, the three words "you don't deserve it" make the 5.5 million an insurmountable barrier for Ayton.

In the next year, Ayton could not be traded, which made him withdraw from the competition for Durant early, and even announced that the Suns had withdrawn from the competition for Durant. This has become an established fact. But for the Suns, no one dares to say for sure what kind of emotion Ayton will be facing next season. In business terms, the Suns' approach is traceable and does not violate regulations, but this does not mean that Ayton must fully accept it.

In the 2021 offseason, after Sarver first questioned the 2018 No. 1 pick, Ayton's professional attitude was praised by the industry because he stated at the time that he would play with peace of mind in the new season to prove his worth. Some people also believe that it was precisely because he was trying so hard to prove himself that Ayton clashed with coach Monty Williams when he was "hidden" in the second round of the Western Conference this year.

Now, the dissatisfaction is gone. What kind of mentality should be used to welcome next season? Even with the remaining four years of the contract, the initiative is still in Ayton's hands. He needs to regain the mentality he had in the 2021 offseason: play well to prove that he is worthy of the current contract, or even worthy of the contract he never got.Of course, he can go about his days with the mentality of clocking in and applying to leave the team after one year, but doing so will damage Ayton's reputation, and it will even be serious to an incalculable extent. In NBA, if you can strictly separate personal grudges and on-court performance, you will always be praised, and Ayton should know how to do it.

Of course, this is easier said than done. It requires Ayton to turn the corner on his own and the Suns to "cooperate". And just in this century, there are countless examples of the host and guest breaking up and opening up new prospects after getting back together, which can give Ayton and the Suns some confidence.

For example, during the 2007 offseason, Kobe expressed his desire to leave the Lakers , and the Bulls were once hyped. In the end, Kobe stayed with the team in exchange for a three-year trip to the Finals and two championships; for example, before Iverson was elected MVP in 2001 and led the 76ers to the Finals, he was almost sent to the Pistons. ; And Duncan and Spurs won 5 championships in harmony. While later generations were praising their virtues, they also forgot that Shifo almost went to Orlando to form a super team in 2000.

A tough melon may not be sweet. (Sit-ups/Maomao)