SB Nation Reacts: Suns among West favorites, fans happy about Mikal, upset about Ayton

Fans across SB Nation reacted to some interesting Suns-related news, including the extension of Mikal Bridges and the lack of an extension for Deandre Ayton.

Along with that, fans across the NBA were asked what they believed the winner of the West would be, and the Suns actually got a decent amount of respect.

We’ll start there then dive into the extension reactions to follow.

Who Will Win The Western Conference Championship?

The Phoenix Suns finish in a tie for second place with the Utah Jazz here, which to me at 17% is a respectable number when considering this is a national poll. It’s certainly less disrespectful than some of the polls or surveys we’ve seen in the past.

Rest of Results

• Mavericks 4%
• Clippers 4%
• Blazers 3%
• Grizzlies 2%
• Timberwolves .5%
• Pelicans .5%
• Spurs .25%

Mikal Bridges Extension

That’s quite an overwhelmingly positive result for any poll on the internet. 95% of Suns fans approve of the Mikal Bridges contract extension of 4 years, $90 million. I can confirm that I am one of those in the 95%.

It’s a great value even for what Mikal is right now, and should only grow to be more of a bargain as time goes on. Bridges will only get better and along with that, the cap is expected to spike a few years down the road, right in the heart of that extension.

It sort of reminds me of how the Warriors got lucky in extending Klay Thompson at the right time, right before a cap spike and before he truly broke out. Not a direct player comparison, rather a situational contract comparison between the two.

Deandre Ayton’s lack of an extension

This one is a bit surprising. Though the majority of Suns fans wanted him to sign an extension in Phoenix, I expected that number to be a bit closer to a 70/30 split than a 60/40 one. Regardless, it’s opened up the floodgates and will be a storyline that the entire organization will have to deal with all season long.

The disagreement between the two parties seemed to be hinged on the 5th year of the deal. There was no game of “chicken” involved, as it seemed like each side knew what the other wanted and it just wasn’t going to happen.

James Jones seems like he has a plan in place (per usual) and only time will tell if he botched this one.

What do you think of these poll results, Bright Side fans?

Let us know in the comments below, and go here to sign up for SB Nation Reacts if you want to participate more!