Deandre Ayton's Viral Post On X After Getting Traded From Suns
Deandre Ayton has spent the first five seasons of his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns.
The 2018 first-overall pick is coming off another productive year where he averaged 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest while shooting 58.9% from the field in 67 games.
On Wednesday evening, the Suns officially announced that they had traded Ayton in a three-team deal (which also included the Milwaukee Bucks) to the Portland Trail Blazers.
On Thursday evening, Ayton sent out a post on X that is going viral.
His post had over 6,000 likes and 215,000 impressions in less than 90 minutes.
Via Ayton: "Phoenix, Grateful for the journey…for the people who supported me, cheered me on, challenged me & helped me grow. To the fans, teammates, coaches, staff, thank you. All love for the valley💜🧡
Portland, LETS GO! Ready for the next chapter…excited to be a Trailblazer #RipCity"
Over 303 regular season games, Ayton has career averages of 16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks per contest while shooting 59.7% from the field.
When the former Arizona star was drafted, the Suns were among the worst teams in the NBA.
He helped them completely turn around the franchise, and they made the NBA Finals in 2021.
As for the Trail Blazers, they are coming off a season where they were the 13th seed in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record.
They missed the NBA playoffs for the second straight season, and after trading Damian Lillard, the franchise will now enter a rebuild.
