Deandre Ayton, Monty Williams Downplay Heated Exchange
Is there trouble brewing in the Valley?
In the Phoenix Suns' 113-110 loss last night against the Washington Wizards, Deandre Ayton and Monty Williams were seen arguing with each other in a heated exchange during a timeout.
Unfortunately for the Suns, this is not the first time the two have locked horns. In Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals last year, Ayton didn't play most of the second half in what Williams described afterwards as "internal" reasons behind him riding the pine.
To make matters worse, during media day, Ayton said that he had not talked to Williams all offseason, which was strange granted the 24-year-old center was a restricted free agent this past summer and did not even talk to his coach during that time period.
Leading up to the incident yesterday, there seemed to be no bad blood between Ayton and Williams. Ayton has been having a fantastic season averaging 17.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per night.
The argument yesterday came during an epic fourth quarter collapse which saw the Wizards go on a 15-0 run at one point. There seemed to be a lot of finger-pointing between both Ayton and Williams, which is concerning to say the least.
However, Williams downplayed the spout with his star center.
“Nah, it was the whole team,” Williams said following the loss. “In those moments, it wasn’t just Deandre (Ayton), it was the whole group, out there not executing properly and it was a bit of frustration but that happens. That was not an isolated one person or one player thing.”
Ayton echoed similar words reassuring fans it was nothing personal between the two of them.
“It wasn’t an exchange of words. We’re a family so you know how he talks to his boys. […] Obviously the whole world [saw] it. But it’s really all love and just getting us back to regroup and take out the confusion,” Ayton said, per Duane Rankin.
“[Coach just told us to] focus on the game, lock back in. Don’t buy into what happened. It was deflating, but at the same time, we’re trying to win the game. That’s all coach really was saying,”
While at first glance the argument between Ayton and Williams may be worrisome, the fact that both of them addressed the situation and put it to bed quickly is a sigh of relief for the Suns.
The last thing the Suns need on their hands right now is a rift between the head coach and one of the vocal points of the rotation. In the past we have seen what arguments and beef between team members can do to a locker room.
In pursuit of an NBA championship, the Suns must have Williams and Ayton on the same page.
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