I've been saying this for more than a year: The question isn't whether Ayton will get a max contract, but whether the Suns want to be the ones paying it. Signing a mediocre player to a huge deal is one of the most costly mistakes a franchise can make. If another team does that, you say, "Whew, there's a competitor I probably don't have to worry about that much down the road." You don't copy them in pursuit of your own self-destruction.
Ayton doesn't have it. Yes, he can play great in stretches, but he pretty much gave up defensively as the Finals wore on, and that's one of the main reasons that Antetokounmpo was able to put up historic numbers.
Worse than that was in the aftermath of Game 6, where Ayton shrugged and said, "We lost, but it was fun." Can you think of any great player who would have had that reaction? It would be inconceivable from the mouth of Paul or Booker, or even a lesser player like Bridges or Crowder. But it's what we expect from Ayton. He's not fueled by winning; he doesn't have an internal need to do the best he can do. We all know this.
Imagine that the Suns were going up against an opponent that had Ayton on the roster. Would you be intimidated? I doubt it. We know that the coaching staff would say, "Here's what you do with Ayton: On the offensive end, watch out for lobs, but if you body him before the pass, he won't fight for position. If he catches it deep, crowd him and be patient, because he'll usually overthink himself into a poor shot. You can give him the 15-footer because he shoots it flat and doesn't make a high percentage. He'll get a lot of defensive boards, so we can't gamble a lot on that end and need to prioritize getting back on the break. On the offensive glass, he battles but has bad hands, so try to contest and there's a good chance you'll be able to knock it free. In general, you can intimidate him by getting in his space; he's not going to punish you physically and he lacks explosiveness on either end of the floor."
When the Suns decided to let Stoudemire go, they blundered by spending the same money on a bunch of role players who didn't move the needle. But with better management, it should be possible to spend Ayton's money on two or three guys who, collectively, bring more to the roster than he does. Ayton is below average offensively among starting centers and, although above average defensively, not elite on that end. There aren't very many individual players who can do everything he does, but there are combinations, and you can get some actual fire and drive as part of the same package.
And no, I'm not going to make specific suggestions. That's James Jones's job.
