Former Suns Center Deandre Ayton Slammed in New Report

The former Phoenix Suns center hasn't made a good impression in Portland.

PHOENIX -- Many were glad the Phoenix Suns decided to rid themselves of Deandre Ayton ahead of the 2023-24 season. 

Their involvement in a massive three team deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers seemingly looks better by the day. 

Ayton has reportedly failed to impress during his early stint in Portland, so much so to where team sources didn't hold back when speaking with The Athletic's Jason Quick on a trade deadline where the team went silent and made no moves:

"But I would have liked something bold. A trade of Deandre Ayton, for starters. Although his play has spiked for the better in the past month, his first months in Portland were defined by tardiness and tantrums according to team sources. And there has been an eerie resemblance to Hassan Whiteside, the former Blazers’ center whose statistics looked nice, but had little to no impact on a game," Quick said.

"The quicker the Blazers can move off Ayton, the sooner I will believe this franchise is headed in the right direction."

Ayton's departure from Phoenix was welcomed by many after he was benched multiple times in the postseason and displayed many of the issues that now plague the Blazers.

New owner Mat Ishbia sent Ayton packing (along with other capital) to ultimately land Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen, both of which have played quite well as the All-Star break approaches. 

There was some hope that Ayton would thrive in a new setting - but that clearly hasn't been the case. The talent ultimately is there for the former No. 1 overall pick, but it's sounding like Ayton has failed to shake any of the narratives that followed him when he departed the Suns.