Does new head coach change Suns' plan for unhappy center?

Williams and Ayton didn't see eye-to-eye much of the time, with Ayton claiming the two didn't speak all summer after the coach benched him in the Suns' Game 7 loss in 2022.

Ayton seemed ready to part ways with Phoenix last summer when he signed a four-year, $133M offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers, which the Suns matched. His disillusionment with the Suns may have started in the summer of 2021 when the team wouldn't offer the former No. 1 pick a max rookie extension, even after they reached the Finals in his third season.

But now Phoenix has Frank Vogel, who has had a great deal of success with big men in his career. Roy Hibbert was a two-time All-Star and the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year when Vogel coached him in Indiana. He won a title in Los Angeles with Anthony Davis, while getting the first good season in years out of Dwight Howard. 

Unheralded center Ian Mahinmi played so well under Vogel in 2015-16 that he earned a four-year, $64M contract with the Washington Wizards. While Vogel's two years with the Orlando Magic were eminently forgettable, he did convince Nikola Vucevic to start shooting three-pointers, a development that turned Vucevic into an All-Star the year after Vogel left.

If Vogel continues his magic touch with centers, perhaps Ayton will stay - and thrive - in Phoenix.

Reportedly, new Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia didn't like Williams either, so perhaps he and Ayton can bond over that.

The other possibility? Vogel used to coach center Myles Turner in Indiana. If the Pacers truly were interested in adding Ayton last summer, an Ayton-for-Turner deal might be in the works. The salaries don't quite match, but Indiana could throw in former University of Indiana point guard T.J. McConnell into the deal to make it work.

Ayton's future looks brighter with Williams gone. It remains to be seen where that future will be.