The relationship between the Phoenix Suns and Deandre Ayton has been a tumultuous one, especially in the last few years. Ayton was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers this summer and refused to comment about his five-season stint with the Suns when asked by media.
“I have no thoughts… I don’t want to talk about it.”
Deandre Ayton on his five seasons spent with the Suns:
“I have no thoughts. … I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ayton recently unfollowed only two former teammates on Instagram: Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
The Trail Blazers play against Phoenix tomorrow in preseason action. pic.twitter.com/nF6XU6lVxC
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) October 11, 2023
The No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft went from being a franchise cornerstone to being traded away for minimal value, as the Suns threw him into a three-team deal that helped the Milwaukee Bucks land Damian Lillard. The Suns got back Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen in the deal, a pretty unimpressive return for a player with Ayton’s upside.
Ayton has been solid on the court, averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds last season, even with Monty Williams not featuring him in the offense. Ayton made the most of the offensive opportunities he got and clearly saw his relationship with Devin Booker also deteriorate.
Given he promptly cut social media ties with Booker and Kevin Durant, it’s clear Ayton was excited to leave Phoenix and get a new start.
Deandre Ayton Says He Feels Like He Got Drafted
After five seasons with the Suns, Ayton has established his roots in the NBA. But for him, that doesn’t seem to be the case. When he was asked about his reaction to the trade, Ayton surprisingly said that it felt like he had been drafted.
“This is so wonderful. I feel like I just got drafted,”
Well, Ayton had been drafted before, under controversial circumstances too. The Bahamian center played college basketball in Arizona as well, making him the perfect pick for the Suns, an Arizona-based franchise. Kyrie Irving made a similar comment recently, saying he wishes he had been drafted by Dallas in 2011.
He was being compared to David Robinson, but many thought the Suns should’ve gone with Luka Doncic instead, who was drafted No. 3 that year. Ayton can’t compare to Luka and the Suns definitely regret that deal. Suns also employed Igor Kokoskov at the time, the same man who coached Luka in Slovenia but was overruled by the front office when he suggested the team draft Doncic.
The team went through a lot to get Ayton and it’s sad to see that this pick hasn’t paid off in the slightest for Phoenix. At least they’ll have memories of the 2021 Finals run.
The Blazers Are In For An Exciting Year
The NBA is convinced that the Blazers are entering a year of tanking, but I think they’ve already done two years of that. They have an exciting young core with a lot of pieces already, which could lead to the team at least pushing for a play-in spot with their new roster.
Anfernee Simons is a high-quality guard along with Ayton, who has proven a decent level of production. When you add a winning defensive player like Robert Williams III and a roster full of high-end young talent like Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, there’s no indication that the Blazers need to bottom out this season. They could easily push for a 40-win season with this team.
They still have the likes of Jerami Grant on the roster as well, which shows that the franchise could operate with winning intent if need be. The 2024 Draft doesn’t; have the same prizes as this year’s draft did, so there isn’t a need for them to not be competitive.
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