The Portland Trail Blazers waiving Deandre Ayton and buying out the remaining $35 million stunned the basketball world. However, with what was happening inside the locker room, the move shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The Athletic’s Blazers insider Jason Quick reported that the franchise had enough of the former No. 1 overall pick’s “bad ways.”
“But in the end, they couldn’t live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source,” Quick wrote. “The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort.”
The Phoenix Suns shipped Ayton to Portland in September 2023 as part of the three-team trade that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. Both players have now been waived on consecutive days.
Ayton never lived up to expectations in Portland due to his perceived lack of maturity and inconsistent play that led to benchings.
During his time with the Blazers, Ayton averaged 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds over 95 games while shooting 56.9% from the field.
Since being waived, Ayton has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. Those veteran-laden teams led by LeBron James and Steph Curry won’t tolerate Ayton’s behavior issues if he doesn’t change.
The Suns selected Ayton with the first overall pick in 2018. Over seven seasons, he’s averaged 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Matt Higgins worked in national and local news for 15 years. He started out as an overnight production assistant ... More about Matt Higgins