All Things Ayton

[Kryptonic]

Maybe the thread will hit 200 pages if we pivot to talking about less controversial topics than Ayton.

So, how about those Democrats and Republicans? And what religion is the right one? The one I believe in, am I right?

Damn that went hard in the paint fast

[Superbone]

I myself am severely disappointed that even with an actual trade this thread is still over 20 pages short of our goal. Hoping a couple of DA monster games against us in the preseason will light a fire under our collective arses.

The actual trade should slow down the thread. He's not our problem anymore.

[Kryptonic]

I myself am severely disappointed that even with an actual trade this thread is still over 20 pages short of our goal. Hoping a couple of DA monster games against us in the preseason will light a fire under our collective arses.

The actual trade should slow down the thread. He's not our problem anymore.

If that's the case, I think we should rename the thread "The Complaint Department" so we can keep all the negativity to one thread.

[Superbone]

I myself am severely disappointed that even with an actual trade this thread is still over 20 pages short of our goal. Hoping a couple of DA monster games against us in the preseason will light a fire under our collective arses.

The actual trade should slow down the thread. He's not our problem anymore.

If that's the case, I think we should rename the thread "The Complaint Department" so we can keep all the negativity to one thread.

Yeah, good luck with that.

[ShelC]

Hate to be that guy but here's some Billups/Ayton stuff

Spoiler: show/hide

[Cap]

He's already a top-5 center in the… Show more

Wow, I was so sure it was going to say “Pacific.”

[Charlie Smithy!]

Per results and especially per his draft status, I really feel like deandre's self-imposed nickname should definitely be shelved, if not at least outwardly. Cuz I feel like it doesn't show a lot of self-awareness, on his part.

But, I do hope, if not just for deandre himself, that he'll put in the work to become who he already thinks he is

[Cap]

Per results and especially per his draft status, I really feel like deandre's self-imposed nickname should definitely be shelved, if not at least outwardly. Cuz I feel like it doesn't show a lot of self-awareness, on his part.

But, I do hope, if not just for deandre himself, that he'll put in the work to become who he already thinks he is

I can’t think of a player with a bigger disconnect between how he talks about himself and how he produces. Anyone?

[Kryptonic]

Per results and especially per his draft status, I really feel like deandre's self-imposed nickname should definitely be shelved, if not at least outwardly. Cuz I feel like it doesn't show a lot of self-awareness, on his part.

But, I do hope, if not just for deandre himself, that he'll put in the work to become who he already thinks he is

I can’t think of a player with a bigger disconnect between how he talks about himself and how he produces. Anyone?

Ben Simmons?

[BigLewy]

Per results and especially per his draft status, I really feel like deandre's self-imposed nickname should definitely be shelved, if not at least outwardly. Cuz I feel like it doesn't show a lot of self-awareness, on his part.

But, I do hope, if not just for deandre himself, that he'll put in the work to become who he already thinks he is

I can’t think of a player with a bigger disconnect between how he talks about himself and how he produces. Anyone?

Ben Simmons?

Pat Beverly came to mind as well, although maybe he just talks and not about how good he actually is.

[Split T]

Dillon Brooks comes to mind…KAT as well

[Cap]

David Robinson, in the opposite direction?

[Charlie Smithy!]

Yinka Dare?

[Bucktastic365]

Hate to be that guy but here's some Billups/Ayton stuff

Spoiler: show/hide

Is it irony that he is wearing #2?

[Kryptonic]

Hate to be that guy but here's some Billups/Ayton stuff

Spoiler: show/hide

Is it irony that he is wearing #2?

It’s been mentioned

[JeremyG]

Full video of the press conference:

[JeremyG]

Around the 4 min. mark, he thanks the Suns for "accommodating to my wishes."

[BKinSJC]

Starting at 3:39 on that clip, he's asked essentially when he knew that Portland would be a possibility, given the ongoing nature of the Lillard trade talks over the summer. His immediate response is that he didn't know until "the day of it," when he heard from his agent, and then from (presumably) Jones (he just says "the GM from the Phoenix Suns") - and then says "I thank them for handling it the way they handled it, and, you know, just accommodating to my wishes; here we are today."

Maybe it's reading too much into that one phrase, but doesn't it sound like Ayton's "wishes" were to be traded to a different situation? So does that mean that at some point he went to the organization and basically said that he was ready to move on (he just wasn't public about it, which, if true, was at least a decent and professional way to handle it)? If there's one thing we know about James Jones, it's that he'll move guys that have made it clear, through words or actions, that they don't want to be there anymore.

He's obviously not unhappy about what's happened, and doesn't seem upset about the way it happened. He is asked and talks a few times about getting a new beginning, and wants to think he can be a voice of experience for the younger guys. I don't know, it's probably not worth overanalyzing, but at least at this point it just seems like too many people felt like the change had to come.

Edit: Jeremy noticed the same thing, and posted just ahead of me.

[Split T]

Yes it definitely sounds like he asked to be traded

[Superbone]

Around the 4 min. mark, he thanks the Suns for "accommodating to my wishes."

Well, there you go. You have to be happy that the Suns did that for him. Right?