Deandre Ayton's Bold Quote About Future With Phoenix Suns
On Thursday evening, the Phoenix Suns lost Game 6 of their second-round playoff series to the Denver Nuggets by a score of 125-100 (at home in Arizona).
Therefore, the Nuggets will advance to the Western Conference Finals, and the Suns have been eliminated from the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Starting center Deandre Ayton missed the game due to a rib injury, which was a significant absence (they were also without starting point guard Chris Paul for the final four games due to a groin injury).
Ayton signed a massive contract extension over the offseason and has three years left on the deal that will pay him in excess of $32 million per season.
On Friday, ESPN's Tim MacMahon wrote about Ayton's future with the Suns as part of an article on the entire team.
Following the loss to the Nuggets, Ayton met with reporters on Friday (video via PHNX Suns) and was asked about his future with the franchise (the full clip of his media availability can be watched here).
Ayton: "I love Phoenix, man. Honestly, I'm gonna continue to play hard for Phoenix. I'm gonna keep repping Phoenix like I've always been repping Phoenix. I don't listen to the outside noise. I'm here. I'm happy."
Ayton was the first pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Arizona and has spent the first five seasons of his career playing for the Suns.
He has helped them make the NBA Playoffs for three straight seasons, and they made the NBA Finals in 2021.
The 24-year-old finished the regular season with productive averages of 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest while shooting 58.9% from the field.
