The Phoenix Suns posted a goodbye video to Deandre Ayton after the team made today’s blockbuster trade, which saw Ayton go to the Portland Trail Blazers, official.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!From the first overall pick to the Valley-Oop, thank you for all you brought to the Valley, DA 😤 pic.twitter.com/g3AgOhlxnx
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) September 28, 2023
They also posted a goodbye to rookie Toumani Camara, who will also be heading to the Blazers.
Thank you, Toumani 💜 pic.twitter.com/IougXhBdRe
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) September 28, 2023
Deandre Ayton
Back in high school, Ayton moved from the Bahamas to California and eventually to Hillcrest Prep in the Valley, where he became arguably the top high school player.
He then spent one year of college at Arizona, where he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in his lone year.
The Suns then decide to take the homegrown kid No. 1 overall in 2018, but it just did not pan out the way everyone wanted.
Ayton brought a lot of ups and downs to the Suns. He helped the Suns reach the 2021 NBA Finals. During the run had one of the best plays in team history now know as the “Valley Oop.”
Some other memorable moments from early in Ayton’s career include his All-Rookie team selection in the 2018-19 season. He then was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2019 season after testing positive for a diuretic. Ayton was also a big part of the Suns’ undefeated bubble run. Many many thought the Suns would have made the playoffs that year if he wasn’t suspended early on.
However, there were too many moments where Ayton looked out of place and not locked into the game. He signed a massive four-year, $133 million offer sheet last offseason with the Indiana Pacers, which the Suns ended up matching.
Ayton’s inconsistent play had fans calling for a trade of the big man for a while, but more so than ever after a rough end to the 2022-23 season. This was highlighted by Ayton getting benched during the team’s last playoff series against the Nuggets.
However, many had their confidence in Ayton restored when Frank Vogel was hired as the Suns’ head coach. That will not end up happening, as Vogel will now have to develop Jusuf Nurkić instead.
All in all, Ayton played in 303 total regular season games for Phoenix, starting 296 of them. He average 16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and one block on 59.7% shooting across his five seasons in the Valley.
Toumani Camara
The Suns selected the 6-foot-8, 23-year-old Dayton product with the 52nd overall pick in this year’s draft.
In his four collegiate seasons, first at Georgia then at Dayton, Camara averaged 11 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG on 51/31/63 splits. He was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference first team his senior year, as well as to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference defensive team.
Camara was a standout on the Suns’ Summer League team in July. Suns fans were excited to see how Camara did with the team after his Summer League performance.
That will no longer be the case. Camara now goes into a better situation for him to earn minutes early on.
It could be considered disappointing that the Suns give up their only draft pick for a while, but Phoenix now has two young wings in Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
