Suns Could See Deandre Ayton's Revival Under Frank Vogel
The future of Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton will continue to be under heavy scrutiny - but such is life when you're one of the more polarizing players in the league.
Ayton's arrival to the Valley was brought with great excitement. A massive, offensive-minded presence anchoring the paint and paired with Devin Booker was too good to pass up for Phoenix brass.
Years down the road and a hefty contract extension later, Ayton could very well be on his way out.
That's not breaking news to anybody who has followed the Suns, as Ayton has found himself in trade rumors the last few seasons. Now that the first year of his new deal with Phoenix is in the books, his veto rights to a trade have been revoked - he can now be moved anywhere.
While Phoenix will surely see what's available for Ayton, new head coach Frank Vogel spoke highly of him during his introductory press conference yesterday.
"I think he can be one of the best centers in the league," said Vogel.
"I think he's shown that at times throughout his career, and I know he showed that when we played him in the playoffs a couple years back and he shot about 80% from the field and deterred every drive, every cut, every effort to attack the basket.
"He can be a big time deterrent. There's still areas that he can grow offensively. But I'm intent on really connecting with him and restoring him to an all star level player."
Vogel also mentioned that Ayton would be an integral part of his notoriously tough defensive scheme.
"I think it starts with the big fella. I've always had elite rim protectors, and you can get the job done without that, but boy when you got a guy like that in front of the basket deterring everything that comes to the rim. You just get stronger in everything," he said.
Inside The Suns staff writer Everett Williams recently orchestrated a tremendous piece on how Vogel could utilize Ayton:
"Vogel has a long road ahead of him with the development of a player like Ayton. But under a new system, Ayton has the potential to at least be a changed player. It would not be surprising to see his defensive capabilities rise, as well as his respect around the league as being an admiral shot blocker. His aggression, the thing that perhaps irks Suns fans the most, could improve under a new Vogel system." - Everrett Williams
Time will tell what happens with Ayton in Phoenix, but Vogel sure seems intent on wanting to maximize Ayton's potential.
