Deandre Ayton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Holiday, Reid, Ayton, Scoot, Jazz

October 29th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets swingman Justin Holiday will celebrate his 35th birthday before the end of the 2023/24 season and has seen his playing time dip in recent years. While the 11th-year veteran believes he still has plenty left in the tank, he admitted to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post that he has been forced to think about how much longer he’ll play before retirement.

“Have I thought about hanging it up? Heck yeah,” Holiday said. “I mean, I have kids. I have a family. So that thought always comes, especially when you get moved around a lot.

“So yeah, I’ve thought about it. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t. I’ve been kind of forced to. My wife’s had conversations like, ‘When are you gonna be done?’ So it’s not like I’m just sitting here (thinking about it) by myself. I had to actually think about it. And I wasn’t able to give her an answer. I still think I have a lot of playing in me.”

After averaging 30.3 minutes per night for Indiana in 2020/21, Holiday has changed teams five times since then and logged just 15.3 MPG in ’22/23. He’s not in Denver’s rotation to open this season, though head coach Michael Malone has said he values having a veteran like Holiday in reserve to call upon when necessary, as we relayed on Saturday.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Timberwolves big man Naz Reid, who scored 25 points in 28 minutes in Saturday’s win over Miami, said that he never seriously considered the idea of leaving Minnesota as he neared free agency this summer, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Reid ultimately agreed to a three-year, $42MM extension just days before free agency began. “I wasn’t going anywhere. I love it here, man. It’s special,” Reid said. “It’s definitely a place I want to be and develop. I’ve developed from year one to now. Each and every year, I’ve gotten better, so there was definitely no reason for me to leave, you know?”
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups likes what he has seen so far from Deandre Ayton, but admits he’s still getting the hang of how best to use his new starting center, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “I told him I’m still learning him,” Billups said. “Still learning his game. Where he can be most effective.”
No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson is off to a rocky start, making 34.8% of his shots and recording more turnovers (nine) than assists (six) through two games. But the Trail Blazers have no concerns and are prepared to be patient with their rookie guard, as Fentress outlines in another Oregonian story. “You can’t rush experience,” Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon said
Two of the Jazz‘s major weaknesses – subpar guard play and defense – have been on display in the early going this season, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. One bright spot, Larsen writes, has been the play of rookie guard Keyonte George, who increasingly looks like he can play a major role on this team.

Trail Blazers Notes: Henderson, Ayton, Camara, Simons

October 18th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers have put together a support staff designed to help Scoot Henderson get the most out of his unique talents, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

Head coach Chauncey Billups was an NBA point guard for 17 seasons and succeeded at the highest level, earning five All-Star appearances and being named NBA Finals MVP in 2004. His coaching staff includes Scott Brooks, who played point guard for 10 years and helped to develop Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, and Pooh Jeter, Henderson’s former G League Ignite teammate. Portland also traded for Malcolm Brogdon, who quickly became a mentor to the 19-year-old rookie.

“Support is everything, especially from the coaching staff,” Henderson said. “That is huge, knowing they have your back. Everyone in the Portland organization, the coaching staff, everybody behind the scenes, they are pitching a lot into the players. The doctors and medical staff are pitching in a certain way you may not think they would. But I’m watching, observing. … I’m going to take the pressure all on me. But knowing that I have the confidence from the coaching staff, I’m going to respect them a lot more.”

Spears notes that Billups can empathize with Henderson because that level of support wasn’t in place for him when he entered the NBA as the No. 3 overall pick in 1997. He was traded midway through his first season and was on his fifth team by the time he developed into a star in Detroit.

“One of the main things I told (Henderson) was, ‘I’m going to be for you what I needed at this age,’” Billups said. “I needed somebody that knew what I should be doing. I needed somebody that could help me learn the game. I didn’t have that. Somebody that was going to be patient with me, knowing that there’s going to be some nasty, ugly games. Someone that was going to be patient, that understood it. I didn’t have that.”

There’s more from Portland:

Deandre Ayton is hoping for a larger role in the offense after being acquired from Phoenix, and Billups seems willing to grant him the opportunity, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I’m going to give him the responsibility to do more,” Billups said, “but it’s all going to be based on his commitment level and what he wants to do.”
Toumani Camara, who was also part of the Suns trade, has been among the surprises of camp, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The rookie power forward, who got a chance to start Monday, is averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in four preseason games. “He’s been such a pleasant surprise for all of us,” Billups said. “He’s just my type of guy, man. He just competes on every play, he’s tough, he’s aggressive. … He has confidence out there. I just love everything about Toumani, man.”
Anfernee Simons told Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report that his goals for this season include making the All-Star team and getting rid of his “bad defender” label (Twitter link).

And-Ones: All-Star Game, Porter, Breakout Candidates, More

October 18th, 2023 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is weighing the idea of reverting to the East vs. West format for its All-Star Game, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Since the 2017/18 season, 12 players from each conference have been named All-Stars, but in order to set the two rosters, the top vote-getters in each conference have drafted teams from pools of eight starters and 14 reserves.

“We’re looking at some potential changes in format in Indianapolis this year,” Silver said, referring to the 2024 All-Star Game. “Maybe a return to something more traditional in terms of how the teams are presented. We went to sort of this captain and draft notion, but clearly historically it was East vs. West. So that’s maybe something we are looking at.”

Back in June, Silver didn’t close the door on the possibility of introducing an All-Star format that would pit U.S. players vs. international players. However, he downplayed the likelihood of that change on Wednesday, noting that the international player pool isn’t currently as deep as the U.S. one, which could result in skewed rosters.

According to Bontemps, Silver also reiterated during his First Take appearance, following up on the league’s recent statements on load management, that he views the idea of shortening the regular season as non-starter.

“None of us believe that,” Silver said. “None of the data supports that. As I was saying, back to this issue about load management, we don’t see more injuries later on in the season. Guys aren’t more likely to be injured after they’ve played 40 games as opposed to the first week of the season. I mean, unfortunately, injuries happen.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick has disputed Manhattan prosecutors’ characterization of Kevin Porter Jr.‘s alleged assault, telling Priscilla DeGregory and Emily Crane of The New York Post that Porter “never balled his fists up and hit me” and “definitely didn’t punch me in the face numerous times.” A second-degree assault charge against Porter was dropped this week after it was determined that Gondrezick’s vertebra fracture was a congenital defect and not caused by the former Rocket, who still faces third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation charges after being traded and waived on Tuesday. “It happened very fast, not to the degree of what was reported,” Gondrezick said of the incident. “And it was an argument that occurred in the room for not even 10 seconds.”
The Athletic’s NBA writers named a breakout candidate for all 30 NBA teams, with their picks ranging from popular choices such as Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton to less obvious selections like Celtics wing Sam Hauser.
Jonathan Givony and Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Insider link) identify the top international freshman in the NCAA this season, starting with center Aday Mara and forward Berke Buyuktuncel of UCLA.
In an entertaining article for FOX Sports, Melissa Rohlin reveals that a Clippers employee – who happens to be a Lakers fan – was the original source of the erroneous offseason rumors linking Lakers guard Austin Reaves to Taylor Swift.

Pacific Notes: Lue, Nurkic, Goodwin, Lakers

October 15th, 2023 at 4:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said this week that he is nearing a decision on L.A.’s starting five, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Lue also shed some light regarding how many players on his fairly deep roster he intends to give rotation minutes.

“[We’ll play] 10 at the most to start, but probably get down to nine as quick as we can, but 10 to start at first,” Lue said. “Don’t hold me to that.”

The statuses of star swingmen Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, plus starting center Ivica Zubac, seem secure. How Lue fills out the other two spots around them remains to be seen.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Newly added Suns starting center Jusuf Nurkic will bring savvy passing and solid defense to the floor this year, opines Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Bourguet adds that the team’s ownership and management were aligned in thinking that the veteran big man could be a better fit than the player he will replace, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton. Bourgeut writes in a separate piece that Nurkic should thrive when it comes to protecting the rim, but history suggests he could struggle to cover opponents further away from the basket.
Nurkic thoroughly outplayed Ayton during the Suns’ 122-111 victory over the Trail Blazers Thursday, Bourgeut writes in an additional column. New Phoenix combo guard Jordan Goodwin enjoyed an efficient scoring night off the bench against Portland, but also made a big impression on the other side of the ball, per Bourgeut.
The Lakers are showing signs of having improved their offense in the 2023 preseason, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Price writes that Los Angeles has scored the equivalent of 141.6 points per game across the five quarters in which it has used its anticipated regular season rotation. The team is employing a broader array of sets, and is taking advantage of its improved shooting profile heading into 2023/24, thanks to the additions of sharpshooting free agents Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince. “Having the type of team that we have – everyone can dribble, pass and shoot – just that unselfishness, moving the ball, that all it comes down to,” head coach Darvin Ham said. “As long as that camaraderie, continuity and communication on the offensive side of the ball continues to grow and build, there’s no doubt in my mind the sky’s the limit.”

Blazers Notes: Team Leader, Ayton, Thybulle, Sharpe, Brogdon

October 4th, 2023 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

With their long-time leader now in Milwaukee, the Trail Blazers need someone to step up and fill that role, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. Last week’s trade of Damian Lillard left Portland not only without its top scorer and No. 1 option in crunch time, but also someone who can take control of the locker room.

Point guard Scoot Henderson seems like the best candidate to eventually accept that responsibility, but he’s only 19 and still has a lot to learn about life in the NBA. Quick notes that Anfernee Simons has been on the roster longer than anyone, but he doesn’t have an outspoken personality. The same is true of Jerami Grant, who’s the team’s second-oldest player at 29 and its top returning scorer.

General manager Joe Cronin and coach Chauncey Billups see the lack of a defined leader as a positive situation because it can encourage competition throughout the roster.

“It’s ‘Come and get it,’” Cronin said. “We have many guys who are very capable or talented enough to be The Man. It’s who is going to emerge from that? Who is going to emerge not just in play, but in leadership?”

There’s more from Portland:

Deandre Ayton will likely see more scoring opportunities than he did with the Suns, but he won’t be the focus of the Blazers’ offense, Quick adds. Ayton was often frustrated over not getting the ball enough with his former team. “We are not bringing Deandre here for him to be (Joel) Embiid, where we throw him the ball 30 times a game and say ‘All right, go be the MVP,’” Billups said. “Like, that’s not going to be his role. However, he will probably have a more expanded role than he had in Phoenix. But again, we have a lot of young guys who are figuring out … these things take time.”
Matisse Thybulle and Shaedon Sharpe are battling to be the starting small forward and Thybulle appears to have the early advantage, tweets Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Billups said Grant will start at power forward, while Robert Williams will back up both Ayton and Grant. Simons will start at either point guard or shooting guard, and everything else will be decided during training camp and the preseason. Henderson and Sharpe are both expected to play extensively whether they start or not.
There has been speculation that the Blazers will try to trade Malcolm Brogdon after acquiring him from the Celtics on Sunday, but the reigning Sixth Man of the Year is preparing to stay in Portland, tweets Casey Holdahl. “They want me here, I want to be here,” Brogdon said. “There’s a lot of misleading information out there about they need to trade me or I want to go. … I’m embracing being here.”
Toumani Camara, who was acquired from Phoenix in the Lillard deal, has been an early standout at camp, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: Murray, Nuggets, Brogdon, Blazers, Wolves

October 3rd, 2023 at 8:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is eligible for a contract extension, but it doesn’t sound as if he plans to sign a new deal before the regular season begins.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes in a subscriber-only story, Murray told reporters on Monday that “we haven’t had that conversation yet.” General manager Calvin Booth said that the organization is in frequent contact with Murray’s agent Jeff Schwartz, and the impression he has gotten is that they’d “rather play it out.”

Murray is one of a handful of players who would become eligible for a far more lucrative super-max extension if he has an All-NBA season in 2023/24. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone believes the guard is capable of that sort of year.

“My challenge for Jamal is to show that you can do what you did in 20 playoff games,” Malone said, per Durando. “Because what Jamal did in the playoffs was ridiculous. … Now the challenge is, OK, you did it 20 games. You showed the world what you’re capable of. I want Jamal Murray to be an All-Star. I want Jamal Murray to be an All-NBA player. And to do that, what’s he have to do? He’s got to do it in October. He’s got to do it in November. He can’t do the slow start. The guys that are on top of their game, they bring it every single night.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Nuggets are optimistic about their chances of winning a second consecutive title in 2024, as stars Murray and Nikola Jokic said at media day on Monday. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN has the story and the quotes.
Sources who spoke to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic believe the Trail Blazers are open to moving veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon but are happy to hang onto him into the season if no good opportunities arise. With that in mind, Vecenie explores what the market for Brogdon might look like.
Jason Quick of The Athletic shares some of his takeaways from the Trail Blazers‘ media day, including the fact that the club is bullish about its new frontcourt duo of Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams. “We — by far — have the most athletic two fives as a combo in the league,” head coach Chauncey Billups said. “And teams will understand that when they play against us, on both sides of the floor. … We are going to put a lot of pressure on the paint on the offensive end, and defensively, we will protect the rim. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Timberwolves had the NBA’s 10th-best defensive rating last season and ranked 23rd in offensive rating. This fall, they’re leaning into that defense-first identity rather than focusing more on offense, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “It has to be (defense first). It absolutely has to be,” head coach Chris Finch said. “I say that just because we have the personnel to do that and be that, on and off the ball and at the rim.”

Suns Notes: Ishbia, Nurkic, Booker, Watanabe, Ayton

October 2nd, 2023 at 8:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forget about the defending champion Nuggets. Forget about what the Bucks and Celtics have done in recent weeks. Suns owner Mat Ishbia confidently declares his team the best in the league, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports.

“We’ve got a great team. I think we’ve got the best team in the league,” Ishbia said. “Obviously, we’ve got to play it out. We’re really excited.”

Ishbia believes that Jusuf Nurkic, acquired in the three-team Damian Lillard blockbuster, is a “better fit” than Deandre Ayton, who was dealt to the Trail Blazers.

“We wish Deandre nothing but the best,” Ishbia said. “He was a great part of the organization, he’ll do great things in Portland, but for us, Nurkic is the better fit and it wasn’t my decision or a one-person decision. It was a unanimous decision that we think it was the right fit for our team.”

We have more on the Suns:

General manager James Jones is confident Devin Booker will feel comfortable as the main ball-handler, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. “Devin’s a player. He’s figured out how to be effective on the ball, off the ball….He’s not gonna complain about having the ball in his hands more, so we’re looking forward to that,” Jones said. Jordan Goodwin and Eric Gordon will also serve as ball-handlers, he added.
Yuta Watanabe said one of the reasons he signed as a free agent was that he wanted to play again with Kevin Durant, Rankin tweets. They were teammates in Brooklyn. “I really enjoyed playing with him,” Watanabe said. “He’s a great teammate, great guy, great leader. After he was traded I was really sad.”
Ayton took a verbal shot at his former organization, hinting the Suns didn’t want him to succeed, Rankin tweets. “I’m with an organization that wants me and wants me to succeed,” Ayton said. “It’s a lot more passion when you feel that mentally and you’re seeing that physically as well. It’ll be a lot more grit and a lot more DominAyton this year.”

Blazers Notes: Ayton, Lillard, Brogdon, Grant, Sharpe

October 2nd, 2023 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is thrilled about the team’s acquisition of Deandre Ayton and believes the former No. 1 overall pick will benefit from a change of scenery, he said on Monday, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).

“I always have a unique perspective because of my playing career,” said Billups, who played for four teams in his first five NBA seasons before finding a long-term home in Detroit. “Sometimes it’s just time for a change. I think that was probably what happened with him (in Phoenix). For me, I’m really excited about DA. He’s already a top-five center in the league and there are so many levels he can get to. We’ve got to help him reach his potential. That’s my responsibility as a coach.”

As Vincent Goodwill writes for Yahoo Sports, the Trail Blazers believe Ayton still has a ton of potential and view him as a talented offensive player capable of playing winning basketball.

The 25-year-old appears to be just as excited about his new home as Portland is to acquire him, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. As Fentress writes, in a social media video of Ayton’s first visit to the Blazers’ facility after the trade, the big man said he was “so glad to be here,” adding that he feels like he “just got drafted.”

“I’m at an organization that wants me and wants me to succeed,” Ayton said on media day on Monday, per Fentress (Twitter link). “So, there’s a lot more passion when you feel that mentally and you know you’ve seen that physically as well. So, there’ll be a lot more grit and a lot more domination.”

Here’s more on the Blazers:

A report in the wake of the Damian Lillard trade suggested that the star guard – realizing he likely wouldn’t end up in Miami – asked general manager Joe Cronin last month if he could withdraw his trade request and return to Portland, and Cronin told him no. Asked today about that claim, Cronin offered his version of events: “I told him I personally thought it was a bad idea. The trade request had not been rescinded” (Twitter link via Highkin).
After trading away Lillard and Jrue Holiday, the Blazers don’t sound like they’re rushing back to the market to move Malcolm Brogdon. “We want to have Malcolm come here and be a part of this,” Cronin said on Monday, per Highkin (Twitter link). “He can bring some good on-court intangibles for us and also as a veteran, which is something we’re going to need. We have a very young roster. I want to make sure there’s enough veteran leadership around these guys.”
Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype listed a handful of potential trade partners for the Trail Blazers if they do decide to deal Brogdon.
Veteran Blazers forward Jerami Grant, who signed a new five-year, $160MM contract with the club in July, admitted it was “definitely a shock” to realize he won’t be playing with Lillard going forward but said that it’s “part of the business” and that he’s comfortable moving forward with the current group. “Joe and (Blazers owner) Jody (Allen) have been doing a great job,” Grant said (Twitter link via Highkin). “I’m fine.”
With Lillard gone, there may be an opening for young wing Shaedon Sharpe to move into the Blazers’ starting lineup, but he said on Monday that he’s not worried about whether he starts or whether he ends up playing at the two or three, according to Highkin (Twitter links). “It doesn’t really matter to me, for real,” he said. Sharpe also told reporters that he expects to play for Team Canada in the 2024 Olympics.

More Details On The Three-Team Lillard Blockbuster

September 30th, 2023 at 1:47pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks were interested in acquiring Damian Lillard immediately after he made his trade request on July 1, but the deal didn’t start to come together until this past Sunday.

As Adrian Wojnarowski writes in an in-depth story for ESPN (Insider link), Bucks general manager Jon Horst told Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin from the outset that their talks had to remain a secret or Milwaukee would withdraw from negotiations.

According to Wojnarowski, Horst didn’t want Jrue Holiday to be involved in any trade rumors, or used as leverage by Cronin with other teams to increase offers for Lillard. The Bucks didn’t want to disrupt their chemistry and hold Holiday in very high regard. That meant Cronin was unable to gauge Holiday’s market value before agreeing to the trade.

As Wojnarowski details, Horst told Cronin that the only way a deal would work is if the Blazers took their time fielding offers and eventually circled back to Milwaukee for one-on-one talks. That started Sunday evening, with both sides feeling like they had reached a breakthrough.

Cronin was determined to say patient and accept the best possible offer, per Woj, and kept details of Lillard negotiations hidden from prying eyes. Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, was determined to steer him to Miami, but Lillard didn’t have much leverage. Wojnarowski strongly suggests Cronin felt the need to keep things private from Goodwin in case he tried to tank trade talks with non-Heat teams.

One of the most fascinating and “delicate” parts of the deal was Phoenix’s involvement. According to Wojnarowski, the Blazers and Suns had the outline of a trade together for months — Deandre Ayton to Portland for Jusuf Nurkic. Cronin wanted to tie that agreement into any Lillard trade, so throughout the offseason he kept circling back to the Suns.

However, as Wojnarowski writes, due to Milwaukee’s insistence on secrecy, Cronin was unable to tell Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein the final details until the last minute. According to Woj, Phoenix knew it was getting Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson from the Blazers in a three-team deal, but the Suns wanted another asset in return.

Cronin was unable to tell the Suns who that player was — or who he played for. Cronin did tell the Suns the mystery player’s position and gave an approximation of his salary, and Phoenix was able to deduce it was either Thunder guard Victor Oladipo or Bucks guard Grayson Allen.

Only on Wednesday afternoon — just before the trade was made public — did Cronin confirm that it was Allen, whom the Suns had reportedly been interested in for several months. According to Wojnarowski, Bartelstein, GM James Jones and owner Mat Ishbia quickly discussed and then agreed to the deal.

The Blazers were happy and relieved to have completed the deal, per Woj, and believed they did right by Lillard by sending him to a contender, even if it wasn’t his preferred destination. Shortly thereafter, Cronin was bombarded by calls inquiring about Holiday, who is now the hottest name on the trade block.

Wojnarowki’s full story is definitely worth reading in full if you subscribe to ESPN+.

Suns Rumors: McConnell, Johnson, Ishbia, Ayton, Lowry

September 29th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are believed to have maintained their interest in Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said in the latest episode of the No Cap Room podcast (YouTube link).

Phoenix’s interest in McConnell was reported by multiple outlets earlier in the summer, but at that time, the team had no clear path to acquiring him due to his $8.7MM cap hit. Following their trade of Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara for four players, the Suns have more potential pathways to acquiring McConnell, with either Nassir Little ($6.25MM) or Grayson Allen ($8.93MM) as a logical salary-matching piece.

While Fischer points out that the Suns are extremely short on point guard depth, he admits he’s not sure if the team will be eager to sacrifice its wing depth by moving a player like Little or Allen. Allen, in particular, had been on Phoenix’s radar for a while, as Fischer noted on Wednesday.

Here’s more on the Suns:

During the same podcast, Fischer reiterated that Keon Johnson‘s days in Phoenix are likely numbered. “I don’t think they’ve officially waived Keon Johnson yet, but from my understanding, they plan to waive him,” Fischer said. The former first-round pick was sent from Portland to the Suns in Wednesday’s blockbuster deal.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia was “very involved” in the trade that landed Allen, Little, Johnson, and Jusuf Nurkic in Phoenix, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick explains, the Suns view the move as one that not only adds depth but gives them players who better fit around their stars. Nurkic was a longtime target for the club, which is “thrilled” to have landed him, Amick adds.
While he’s not an All-Star like Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, Ayton is the only player in Wednesday’s blockbuster who is a former No. 1 overall pick, so his departure represents the end of an era, of sorts, in Phoenix. Doug Haller of The Athletic and Gerald Bourguet of GoPHNX.com take a look back at Ayton’s tenure with the franchise and, in Bourguet’s words, the “polarizing, complicated” legacy he’ll leave behind.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 has shot down a report claiming that the Suns had interest in acquiring Kyle Lowry from the Heat as part of a three-team trade if the Trail Blazers had decided to send Lillard to Miami. There’s “absolutely no truth” to that claim, according to Gambadoro (Twitter link), who says Phoenix was “totally focused” on Nurkic and the smaller pieces they could get with him.