The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Phoenix Suns’ offseason roster overhaul was highlighted by the addition of veteran point guard Chris Paul, a move that has Bahamian centre Deandre Ayton bullish on the team’s potential.

Ayton spent much of his time with the media expressing his excitement on the thought of playing alongside the future Hall of Fame floor general.

“Ya’ll need to fix ya’ll faces. We got ‘CP3’ in Arizona. Ya’ll trippin’”, he said to a group of reporters on the Zoom call, “When I heard it was official, I wanted to do a backflip. You ever seen a 7 footer do a backflip?”

Ayton, Paul and franchise guard Devin Booker are expected to lead the Suns’ resurgence and end a 10-year playoff drought.

“You’re having me roll to the basket, you got CP3 coming off in the mid-range area and you got Book weakside corner,” Ayton said. “It’s crazy. What can you do?”

Headed into his third season, Ayton said that while he has continued to work on the growth of his game, Paul’s mentorship could elevate that growth to previously unforeseen levels.

“Just knowing the tradition and the type of career he’s had and the foundation he laid in this league, its tremendous. Knowing that I’m going to be a part of his legacy, Oh yea - I haven’t stopped moving, I want to lift more weights, it’s go time. You have a future hall of famer coming in to really show us the ropes and help me and ‘Book’ out as young guys who can really take over this league,” Ayton said.

“I’ve changed my game and added on so much to my game now, I can get the ball wherever, to be honest and I can’t wait to show that, but it’s about what this team needs, where CP3 wants me. He’s the leader and he’s the vet, wherever he wants me I’m locked in and I’m buying it.”

The Suns completed their improbable run at the NBA’s Orlando “bubble” as the only team to go undefeated in the seeding games at 8-0 but finished at No.10 in the conference standings.

At 34-39 on the season, Phoenix finished tied with the No.9 Memphis Grizzlies (34- 39), who held the tiebreaker.

In his second NBA season, Ayton averaged 18.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 55 percent from the field in just 38 games.

“I know he’s gonna be on my tail. Me and ‘Book’ need that. This team needs that. I’m a dude who is very amped up and just wanting to destroy everything but having someone who can channel that is just amazing,” Ayton said.

“We know we have to step up and bring it every night. We’re happy, we’re eager to do it and we want to show the world. We don’t want to do it when it goes down the drain, we want to do it when it counts and show this world and show this league we are capable of competing.”

Paul said the goal coming in is for the team to win and that he expects to learn as much from the young players as they do from him.

“Everyone always talks about what I can teach (Booker) or teach some of these other guys, but they’re teaching me at the same time too. I’m not James Naismith by no means. First things first, I’m not just coming in here trying to teach everybody. I’m his teammate. We’re here to hoop, we’re here to compete and that’s how I approach this,” Paul said.

“That’s a very important relationship with the big man, especially in the pick-and-roll. I got a chance to see him [Ayton] him working out a little bit (Wednesday). I’m excited to get out there on the court to find out where he likes the ball.”

Expectations for the third year centre and the Suns franchise loom large after the team showed marked improvement in Orlando.

Suns General Manager James Jones told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Doug and Wolf that the organisation shares its former No. 1 overall pick’s enthusiasm on the growth of his game under Paul’s leadership.

“Deandre’s never played with a player like Chris. He’s never been this close to what I call superior excellence, and for us, we’re always demanding more. We’re always looking for ways to help Deandre improve and grow, and he wants that. In order for us to be a really good team, he has to continue on an arc,” Jones said.

“I know they’ll spend a lot of time together. Chris will teach him the ins and outs, the nuances, the point guard-centre combo dynamic will help him. … He’s still young in his understanding of being effective in the NBA against NBA length and scheme, but I’m excited for him. It’s going to be the most fun he’ll ever have as a player because we all know the tight ends love their quarterbacks, the wide receivers love their quarterbacks and that’s what you’ll see with those two.”