Deandre Ayton is giving off some strong Eric Bledsoe vibes right now.
During his availability at Phoenix’s Media Day, Ayton was asked how he felt when the Suns matched the four-year, $133 million offer sheet he signed with the Pacers in the offseason.
His response? “I was happy. It was all done, I guess.” When asked if that was it, he said “yup.”
24 hours later, Ayton was back in the news after being asked how he and Suns head coach Monty Williams have been able to move on following the team’s Game 7 loss to the Mavericks, in which Ayton played only 17 minutes. Ayton said he hasn’t spoken to Williams “at all” since the game and didn’t give the most convincing answer to if he’s excited to still be in Phoenix.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” he said.
Oof.
Deandre Ayton said he and Monty Williams have not spoken about their sideline incident in Game 7: pic.twitter.com/Z9rHYHr5yX
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) September 27, 2022
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When Ayton playing 17 minutes in Phoenix’s blowout loss to Dallas came up after the game, Williams said it was an “internal” matter. It was reported a few days later by Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that Ayton is “not particularly a favorite” of Phoenix’s head coach, word that had been circulating around the league dating back to the trade deadline.
Initially, there was some skepticism around the league that the Suns would match a max offer for Ayton in restricted free agency, but they ended up signing the paperwork to bring him back. Quickly.
Ayton has played a key role in Phoenix’s success over the last couple of seasons, posting averages of 15.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game on 63.0 percent shooting from the field as the team’s starting center. The Suns are going to need him to be firing on all cylinders to compete in what is shaping up to be a competitive Western Conference this season, but it sure seems like they have some mending to do.
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