After several long and miserable years in the Western Conference bunker, it was good to see the Phoenix Suns rise from the ashes and find some success these past few seasons.
In 2021, they made it all the way to the Finals before losing to the Bucks in 6 games. Last year, they finished with the best record in the league before being bounced by Dallas in the second round.
Now, ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, the Suns are doing their best to start over and leave the past in the past. Unfortunately, the situation with Deandre Ayton has made that almost impossible.
Monty Williams Responds After Deandre Ayton Says They Haven’t Spoken In Months
Perhaps the biggest problem facing the Suns this year is the dynamic between Ayton and head coach Monty Williams, which is fractured — at best.
When Ayton revealed this week that he hasn’t even talked with coach Williams since Game 7 of the West Semi-Finals, it raised a lot of concern in the community before Monty had the chance to respond for himself.
“I haven’t talked to a lot of guys. Like I said earlier in the summer, they needed a break,” Monty said to the press on Tuesday. “From me, the gym. Unless you were in the gym like every day… I’ve had interactions with everybody, talking to guys about deep stuff. I think when you’ve been around a group as much as we have the last three years — first year the bubble, and then condensed seasons — I felt like guys needed a break. Even when guys are in the gym, I wouldn’t come downstairs just cause I wanted them to get a break from me. I think so much has been made of Game 7,” Williams continued. “We put it to bed last night as a team. You can ask everybody in the gym, I put it to bed last night.”
“I think if you ask a bunch of our guys they’d be like ‘yeah coach has been quiet this summer.’ I just wanted to get everybody a break. Your voice can become too much and I just didn’t want that to happen.”
We spoke with Monty Williams about 20 minutes after. Here is what he had to say on a few questions about it. Downplayed it and said he hasn't talked to a lot of guys on the team.
Was asked if there is an issue that could linger and he said "not at all."https://t.co/jIEVXRsJe2
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) September 27, 2022
Monty Williams is clearly downplaying any notion of a rift between him and Ayton, but it’s getting increasingly hard to deny that their relationship is less than ideal.
No matter who else Monty talked to or not over the summer, he should have made a conversation with Ayton one of his top priorities. Because if the Suns want any hope of a successful season, they will need the young big man at the absolute top of his game.
