Draymond Green: Deandre Ayton Was 'Bust' Before Chris Paul Played for Suns
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton has quickly established himself as one of the more polarizing figures in the Arizona sports scene.
Ayton - the franchise's lone No. 1 pick - arrived to the Valley with All-NBA potential and perhaps further thanks to his massive length and offensive prowess.
Now that we're years into his career, the 24-year-old center has failed to impress everyone in Phoenix. He's often labeled as soft and lacks the mean streak so many Suns fans want him to play with, especially around the rim on both ends of the floor.
However, the organization felt he was not only important enough to match a massive offer sheet in last year's free agency, but also to retain Ayton amid a myriad of more trade rumors this summer. After Chris Paul was traded in the deal that landed Phoenix the talents of Bradley Beal, moving Ayton's contract was the last significant move the Suns could have made to acquire talent outside of veteran minimum contracts in free agency.
Paul quickly found his way to the Golden State Warriors, where he's now teamed up with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green - who was originally a free agent but re-signed with Golden State shortly after Paul was acquired.
On his own podcast, Green was speaking on Paul's impact when landing on teams and labeled Ayton a bust before Paul arrived in Phoenix.
"CP is great with the young guys. Deandre Ayton looked like a bust before CP came to Phoenix - no disrespect to Ayton, but more so a nod to CP," said Green,
Ayton's numbers did improve after Paul's arrive via trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder in November 2020, though nothing drastically to suggest Ayton was night-and-day different.
It's also no secret that Ayton appeared more locked in and engaged thanks to Paul constantly making it a point to involve the big man on the offensive end. Without a true point guard (and another prominent scorer now ahead of him in the pecking order), it will be interesting to see how Ayton molds himself with the 2023-24 Phoenix Suns.
