In his first year with the Portland Trail Blazers, center Deandre Ayton has mightily regressed from his peak days with the Phoenix Suns.
After wearing out his welcome with Phoenix, the 25-year-old was flipped to Portland this offseason as part of the three-team blockbuster deal with the Suns and Milwaukee Bucks that sent-ex-All-NBA Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to Milwaukee, former Bucks wing Grayson Allen and ex-Portland center Jusuf Nurkic to Phoenix, ex-All-Star Milwaukee point guard Jrue Holiday to Portland (before he was later rerouted to the Boston Celtics) and landed Ayton in Rip City.
Fans and pundits expected Ayton’s numbers on a rebuilding team to increase mightily, perhaps to All-Star levels, in 2023-24. Instead, they took a dip. He’s averaging a career-low 13.8 points on 56% shooting from the field, plus 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks per.
Beyond his on-court numbers, on a lottery-bound 15-39 squad, Ayton has apparently been something of a malcontent.