Suns’ Deandre Ayton feels ‘no way’ about sitting in 4th quarter, trusts team

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton has continued to say the right things through his young career, including during some slight turbulence in Year 3.

In the Suns’ last three competitive games, head coach Monty Williams has played backup 5 Dario Saric over Ayton in the fourth quarter. It is both a compliment to how well Saric has played and also a point to Ayton’s struggles with building consistency through 2.5 NBA season.

That can be a frustrating process for a player to go through, and they’ll often admit it while working their way back into their preferred role. Ayton’s not there yet.

“I feel no way,” he said of it. “We’re winning. I trust my coaches and I trust my teammates and whatever’s best for my teammates I’m with. At the end of the day, we’re just chasing something bigger, so if coach trusts something to get us a dub, I’m with it. I just try to do my best, contributing the best way I can on or off the court.”

Ayton credits the foundation in place for that.

“Coach Monty brought a culture where us as a team — we play together, we win together (and) we have to do it together in order to accomplish our (goal) or fight over adversity,” he said. “We can’t do it without each other and it’s a contagious thing where that mindset about not worrying about minutes or not worrying about your playing time and who is playing before you — it doesn’t really sink into your head because we’re chasing something so (much) bigger than just a win.

“It’s a culture, it’s a tradition we’re building as a team and we have a lot of solid guys on this team that [are] really genuine that have a lot of gratitude for each other. That’s what coach Monty spreads and that’s just the team we are.”

The big fella has to feel extra fortunate for that support in place given the recent development in his life of becoming a father.

He described the first week of that journey in a way many have before him.

“No sleep,” he said with a smile. “Just trying to figure out the schedule, waking up at 3 a.m., going back to sleep for two hours — just getting the hang of that. I have a team at home that really helps me out with that. My girl holds it down for me and makes sure I get enough rest for these games.”

In an interview with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, Ayton said he named his son after himself.

Here’s why:

“I did that because it’s another chip on my shoulder leaving something behind,” Ayton said. “Starting a legacy and making sure my son has respect on his name when I’m said and done with this game on and off the court.”

Follow @KellanOlson