The Deandre Ayton experience has been a roller coaster for the Phoenix Suns. The center was taken first overall in the 2018 NBA Draft and flashed his potential as a large, nimble big man with a deft scoring touch early on. Ayton played a pivotal role in the Suns’ run to the Finals in 2021 as a big who could switch onto guards and punish smaller teams with his scoring touch and rebounding.
However, Ayton’s phenomenal playoff run did materialize into a max extension offer heading into the final year of his rookie deal. The contract situation hovered over the Suns all season, and the year ended with Ayton getting benched during an embarrassing Game 7 loss at home in the Western Conference Semis against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Suns would eventually match an offer that Ayton received as a restricted free agent, but the Game 7 loss appeared to create significant friction between Ayton and head coach Monty Williams. At training camp, Ayton told reporters that he and Williams did not speak to one another the entire summer. And while Ayton put up 18 points and 10 rebounds a night this last season, his relationship with Williams was a consistent storyline for Phoenix throughout the year.
Williams was fired and replaced by Frank Vogel, and on Tuesday, the Suns’ new coach made clear that striking up a relationship with Ayton — whose name has been on the trade block since, essentially, the start of the offseason — is a priority.
"I think he can be one of the best centers in the league. … There are still areas that he can grow offensively, but I'm intent on really connecting with him and restoring him to an All-Star level player."
Suns HC Frank Vogel on Deandre Ayton pic.twitter.com/NDooEjJcCQ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 6, 2023
Vogel has reputation for coaching up talented big man. In Indiana, he transformed Roy Hibbert into one of the league’s best rim protectors. In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis played some of his best basketball under Vogel en route to a championship in 2020. Ayton has the physical tools to be one of the league’s top bigs, but for one reason or another, he has never consistently played with the physicality and focus required to become elite. If Vogel wants to succeed in Phoenix, he will have to figure out how to get Ayton to do just that.
