Suns’ Monty Williams doesn’t ‘need to air anything out’ with Deandre Ayton
Oct 4, 2022, 2:45 PM
Head coach Monty Williams and Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Footprint Center on February 15, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns beat the Clippers 103-96 (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams on Tuesday addressed the comments by his center Deandre Ayton from a week prior that the two hadn’t talked since the end of last season.
Williams’ initial comments on the matter on Sept. 27 ended with him telling the assembled media he was done talking about it. He was asked on Tuesday if he had sat down with Ayton yet.
“I coach Deandre every day in practice,” Williams said. “And I’ve already said this: I’m not gonna keep talking about every time I sit down and talk with somebody. I’m not gonna address it or make a statement about it. I coach him hard every day in practice. You see he’s here getting his work in. That’s what we expect of our guys. Talking about whether or not I talk to a guy is kind of senseless.”
Williams was asked at if he had aired some things out with Ayton given the way the Game 7 loss against the Dallas Mavericks ended.
“We don’t need to air anything out,” Williams said. “That’s my point. I’m not gonna keep addressing that. It’s like, he’s the player, I’m the coach. Just like with Book and Chris and Mikal. DA gets his work in every day.”
When Ayton was asked last week what he would like to say to his head coach, Ayton said: “I can show him better than I can tell him.”
Williams told reporters he had given his players a break and that he has not talked “to a lot of guys.” Williams added that he did not think the Ayton situation could become problematic for the team.
“Not at all,” he said.
The Suns on July 14 matched an offer sheet that Ayton signed to join the Indiana Pacers on a maximum four-year, $133 million deal.
Ayton played 17 minutes in the Game 7 loss and was subbed out early in the third quarter. When Williams was asked after the game about Ayton’s limited playing time, he said: “It’s internal.”
