lilfishi22 wrote:TeamTragic wrote:sunsbum wrote:Just now watching this, interesting at the 4ish min mark someone asked how he found out, he said Matt took him up and told him. DA went on to say "I was thankful he accommodated my wishes". So looks like DA asked out privately as well.
This will go down as the dumbest trade request in NBA history. That clown looked at our current lineup with brand new ownership and a new coach and decided that he wants to go to a rebuilding team where centers go to die.
Mindblowing. DA needs multiple therapists and someone that can put him on the right path.
It worked out for all sides. He got to go to a team where he'll likely have more freedom to do what he wants out on the court, likely not have elite players like Book/KD/CP3 (at the time) stare him down for not doing what he should be doing and just being in a much lower pressure environment. I've said for a while now that I thought the best place for him and his character is on a team where he can be featured as the #1 or #2 guy, it's in a small-medium NBA city without the national spotlights and relatively low stakes. I thought Detroit, Indiania Orlando would've been a good landing spot for him.
You could say he's taking the Jeremi Grant route of going from a contender to a smaller market where he could be featured (coincidently, Detroit) and give himself an opportunity to be the man. I think Grant did a good job in Detroit, he was their go-to guy on a low stakes rebuilding team, generally got no pressure from the press/media and occasionally he'd get a mention or a highlight reel on the ESPN's when he has the occasional 30+, 40+ pt games. He'll now be playing with Ayton, ironically.
Portland is rebuilding but they already have some pieces in place with Scoot, Grant and Sharpe so he won't be the #1 guy but there's a chance he's no worse than #3 and potentially could be #2 depending on how well Scoot acclimates and if they move Grant
I don't think it was so much about being a #1 guy or a lot of shots. Even in that interview, just like he said in countless Suns interviews, he doesn't care about a lot of shots, will sacrifice his shots for others, etc, and will do what he needs to do, etc.
I think it mainly comes down to where he didn't feel valued, even maybe going back to the summer he was eligible for a max extension and never heard from Jones...this was when everyone was expecting him to get the max, thought he deserved it...I even remember listening to the Timeline guys and Max/David and they all thought he deserved it...Chris Paul said he'd get the bag. Then they never heard from Jones, according to his agent (even though Jones said he would have been open to a 4 year max). Then the next summer when he was a FA, again, they tell him to go find a deal elsewhere...then they match it. Just kind of a strange way to treat the situation.
I think he put it behind him for the most part but being the youngest guy always seemed to be a scapegoat for losses and any mistakes were amplified, especially by the fans. I think most appreciated Ayton until the team expectations went through the roof after the finals play, and even though he made some improvements the following year, expectations were so high it was hard for people to live up to, but they still won the 64 games, but Paul suddenly got old after 2 games in the Mavs series and became a different player and our team looked different due to Paul. Paul was the biggest reason that series changed, and then everyone choked in game 7, yet it was an argument with Monty after they were down 30 or 40 in the 4th (but had been down over 30 at halftime), that people focused on, even though the reasons we lost that series were Chris Paul and NO ONE showing up in game 7. Ayton helped save us in the Pelicans series when Book was out.
Then last year our whole team is injured, but losses were again blamed on Ayton. Jokic dominated him, but he dominates everyone.
I think he just wanted a situation where he felt more valued...not so much that he wanted to be the #1 guy or anything. He's never really cared about that.
You can work at a great company, but if you are not valued, and you feel they have tried to lowball you on pay, you are probably not going to be happy.
Nurk had a good interview. Hopefully he gets rejuvenated too and plays better than he has the last few 4-5 years.
