After Suns head coach Monty Williams downplayed what from the outside appeared to be a somewhat contentious relationship with Deandre Ayton, as the two hadn’t spoken for months during the offseason after Ayton was benched in a Game 7 blowout to Dallas and then entered restricted free agency, the center says he’s communicating with his coach again.
“I mean, we talk, man,” Ayton said, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscription required, hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “At the end of the day, it’s like we’re trying to contribute to a win. Everything is back to normal. Nothing has changed to be honest.
“Yeah, I may have come to media day just bland, but I wasn’t trying to give nobody no damn story or nothing, but it flipped on me. So, I can’t really say nothing. Just let everybody run away with it. All I know is we’ve been in here working. We’ve been battling each other, beating up each other in training camp. Coach has been loving it.”
Of course, it would be strange if Ayton and Williams hadn’t resumed speaking considering they have to interact with each other regularly, but calling these answers — and his demeanor — “bland” (video link) is a little disingenuous since his replies were curt and he certainly looked like he’d rather have been anywhere else at the time.
Still, he’s under contract for four more years and can’t be traded until January 15, and Williams signed a long-term extension over the summer, so the two will have to work together for at least a few more months, if not longer, so it’s only natural to try and make the best of the situation. Evidently, that’s what Ayton is trying to do.
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