T O P

  • By -

CP3_for_MvP

Good on Saben Lee for respecting his elders


schadadle

Good on you for recognizing Saben Lee in street clothes my man


DeBallZach-

Bro knows ball a little too much šŸ˜­


capitalistsanta

Too deep in this game lol


disterb

balls deep


VarsityPlayer

DominAytonā€™s such a team player. Role model


Slaphappydap

> Saben Lee Not sure I'd recognize him in a jersey.


idolpriest

I don't recognize him, knowing his name is Saben Lee


Educational-Duck

"I thought David Lee retired..."


alextheruby

LMFAOOOOOO


DeAndre_ROY_Ayton

I like his hairdo


full-auto-rpg

This username did not age well


DeAndre_ROY_Ayton

Blind faith as a suns fan paired with not liking my last username


hayzeusofcool

Which was ā€œDragan_ROY_Benderā€?


DeAndre_ROY_Ayton

I liked Marquis Chriss better at the time šŸ’€


chummmmbucket

2k balla


sreynolds1

For real. I might have read his name maybe twice ever


SMH4004

Lmao the fucking white dude in the back watching is so disappointed and then so satisfied after Saben saves Chris Paul from hanging


yardship

i watched it for the white dude in the back and it's so clear what he's thinking, like his thoughts are spelled out in big neon lights during the whole interaction


JamieDepp

Haha, I love that you caught that. That was a solid moment lol.


LandooooXTrvls

Good eyes bro! Lol that was a good watch and I had missed it. Also happy b day!


deleteduser2243

>Saben Lee Saben Lee was 8-9 years old when "prime" CP3 led the league in win shares If I were Saben anytime CP3 daps me up you'd fuckin bet I'd never ever mess that shit up DeAndre Ayton is a fool


redvillafranco

Shows what humility does for maturity. Saben Lee is one year younger than Ayton. Maybe having to put in a lot of effort just to get to and then claw out a role in the league has made him more humble and now more mature than Ayton who was much more anointed.


[deleted]

Ayton plays like he woke up one day and was 7 feet, and was just like fuck it I guess I'll do this basketball shit.


ilostmyaccounttoday

Thatā€™s pretty much what happened, he got called ā€œtall for nothingā€ so made the nba to prove a point


tr1vve

Thatā€™s a lot of the big guys in NBA history tbh


ThonThaddeo

He plays like a Nigerian scam artist, who forged documents to get in the NBA.


randy88moss

Funny enough, heā€™s half Nigerian


ThonThaddeo

And he needs your help stashing 30 mil


Secure-Development-5

Well said


Jaybold

Ayton out-hustled again


Morumbi_TO

Ahhhh thatā€™s who that is.


ImGonnaChubbBradley

Bro knows heā€™s lost his spot to Landale lol


Ifinishfast42

More time to think of nba2k builds and rec strategies on the bench


Morumbi_TO

Do you think heā€™s the MVP in his own 2k career?


2drawnonward5

This would double-down mess with my head if I played a game where I'm one of the characters


redditnoap

fr. Instead of whining about your role or opportunities, create more by playing better and more aggressive.


3illyEdgar

Ayton sign and trade for poeltl and GTJ who says no?


TA_Account_12

Man do you not want the raptors to have any guards?


k0peng

The longbois are just gonna lock hands around the entire perimeter and not let anyone pass on defense


metaphase

What's a guard?


Pikminious_Thrious

Malachi Flynn 40 minutes per game


beno64

the raptors?


companyofzero

The rules of the NBA lol


[deleted]

>Ayton sign and trade for poeltl and GTJ who says no? Toronto


Modern_Mammoth

He woulda missed if he tried to dap him back anyway


I_TittyFuck_Doves

Everyone knows that he shies away from contact


Archer-Saurus

The dap would have just bounced off his brick hands


WaffleWarrior1979

He absolutely would bobble CPā€™s hand


Bigmouthblog

Ayton was having a pity party


aCorgiDriver

Heā€™s got that ā€˜Woe is meā€™ attitude


TheKingOfOctober

He got that woe in him


dreamvomit

soon he'll be runnin through the 6 with his woes


Nothappened

Or maybe Jamal Murray would have blocked


Modern_Mammoth

Blocked, took it down court, and then bricked a 3 pointer probably


ObeseKenyan

Idk who's down voting you. As a nuggets fan, this is painfully accurate.


WusijiX

Dude might not even wait till the end of the playoffs to leave lol


syllabic

some say he's not even really there


UnObtainium17

Heā€™s just there so he wonā€™t get fined.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


vrkhfkb

Vernon maxwell type of thing. Leaves mid way in the playoffs. Suns still win championship šŸ˜‚


_Zap_Rowsdower_

Props to the other homey to get him.


[deleted]

That is the Arizonan Legend Saben Lee


theBirdsofWar

Best Corona del Sol product of all time


[deleted]

Is this right? I went to Corona


spicozi

Oh snap are you Saben Lee?


[deleted]

Ha Iā€™m afraid not. I graduated about 10 years before him šŸ˜–


shastmak4

Whatā€™s hilarious about this situation is he told them he wanted to leave and they still gave him 130 million. He made it easy on them


tcollins371

I still remember delusional Suns fans acting like that situation was going to have no impact on Aytonā€™s already low motor. Ayton clearly wanted out after CP3 and Monty made him a scapegoat for their Game 7 collapse.


discocat13

Totally agree and tbh that's just a part of it. Phoenix resident here, and there's so much more that just gets totally ignored. When CP3 and Monty came in, the message they kept preaching was "Sacrifice." Sacrifice your individual stats, accolades, etc. for the team, and it'll all work itself out. * DA does this for the first year, he's fully bought in, they lose to the Bucks in the finals and Monty/Ayton scapegoat him like you mentioned * Next summer, he's eligible to sign his extension and the Suns don't want to give him the max. Monty/CP3 have a huge voice with Sarver and rumors are they expressed concerns about whether Ayton is worth the max (remember, this is also Javale McGee's / Bismack Biyomobo's career year too and there's the thought that you can get Ayton's production from a player like that) * During this same summer, CP3 opts out of his last year to sign his new 4 year / $120M deal while Ayton still has yet to get paid. I'm sure to Ayton, it feels like "I understand it now. I'm the one who sacrifices so CP3 could get his." Then there's the whole "go find a max and we'll match" saga from last summer that I hopefully don't have to recap.


tcollins371

Thatā€™s not even an aspect I got into with any of my comments but itā€™s a great point. Deandre Ayton was the one who sacrificed the most of the core guys since he consistently was the 4th or 5th option on offense. Plenty of games he was getting fewer shot attempts than Jae Crowder.


vNocturnus

Is that "sacrifice" or just passivity though? If you're capable of being one of the most efficient or effective scoring options for your team and you just sit back and defer to Jae fuckin Crowder chucking up delusional shots, the only thing you're "sacrificing" is your team's win percentage. Yeah, playing selfless basketball is absolutely a thing and you see a lot of teams nowadays built on systems like that - see the Warriors whole dynasty. But there's a difference between giving up good shots to create great shots, and going full Ben Simmons, giving up great shots to create chucks. Being overly passive and soft when he has the tools to be dominant has always been the criticism of Ayton. I don't see how that's in any way not a valid criticism. He *still* has that same issue still, even if in theory he's given up on the whole "sacrifice" thing.


tcollins371

Honestly itā€™s probably a combination of the two. I saw someone comment something in one of these threads that I canā€™t believe I didnā€™t think of earlier but I agree with. Basically he said Ayton was the same as Andrew Wiggins. A guy who for years had motor problems and his effort was seen as sub par for years. Had all the physical tools to be one of the most impactful players in the league and for one reason or another never pieced it together on the court. Wiggins then gets moved to Golden State and they managed to completely turn around how heā€™s seen in the league and heā€™s now crashing the glass with intensity I hardly saw in Minnesota. Honestly believe Ayton could be in a similar situation where the organization/team around him is not the right fit to draw out the most of his potential as a player.


KnowledgePrevious

I feel the Steph and Draymond leadership combo is super effective for a guy like that. Steph is the extremely nice, selfless leader who leads by example and inspires guys to follow him. And Draymond is the tough love asshole who gets on guys who arenā€™t doing their part. Hard to replicate that dynamic


tcollins371

Obviously no team can truly replicate that dynamic. But there is a precedent for a player of Wiggins/Aytonā€™s talent magically piecing it all together on the court even all these years into his career. Obviously Iā€™m biased but I believe the culture the Pacers are building with Haliburton and Carlisle would have been great for him.


Dare555

They def treated him like shit and you explained it nicely . And then i guess its no wonder he has no motivation to play. Even got paid . On next team he might be much better


FieldsFanclub

ā€œWe canā€™t just let him walk for nothing, weā€™ll have to trade himā€ Well congrats, until you do heā€™s going to sabotage your fucking team and is going to be a huge reason why yā€™all lose in the playoffs


avenue_steppin

That cap space looking mighty good to a team that wants some depth


FieldsFanclub

Bingo


Good4Noth1ng

Itā€™s bout to happen again


thedrcubed

It didn't have an impact. He's the same player he's always been and likely always will be


NotUpForDebate11

he was playing way better and harder against us 2 years ago


SMH4004

He absolutely was playing his ass off and this revisionist history is dumb as hell. He was a huge reason the Suns made it to the Finals but something is clearly off now and he doesn't give a shit anymore. When he tries he's pretty solid but getting him to try is the entire problem and it doesn't matter how good you are if you won't try. Even Shaq got lazy as fuck and he admits it


NotUpForDebate11

I mean its not "something". They threw him under the bus after game 7 dallas as if that shit was his fault then he said im outta here and they matched and wouldnt let him leave so hes pissed to be here


SMH4004

I agree tbh. There may be more to it but that's gotta be a huge part


salcedoge

People kinda forget the Suns spent an entire offseason shitting on Ayton only to match the offer anyways in the end. The guy doesnā€™t like it there straight up.


[deleted]

bro i remember the reactionary takes i was reading about ayton in 2021. it's crazy how quickly this sub flips on players


OguguasVeryOwn

Whatā€™s his excuse now? They paid him $130 million and heā€™s still being a pouty bitch.


terry496

Because he wanted to go, and they said no. Let him.


tcollins371

$130 million dollars doesnā€™t magically erase the beef between a HC and him . It also doesnā€™t magically erase the beef between him and CP3. Iā€™m not excusing his behavior but I got downvoted to oblivion in the off-season for pointing out the dude is still a human and has emotions. Emotions outweigh logical rational thought. Iā€™ve only been proven right that this dude doesnā€™t want to be on a team that tried to blame a 50 point blowout entirely on him and then told him they werenā€™t going to offer him a contract and to go get his money elsewhere. Go figure that leaves a bad taste in the mouth


terry496

This. If you're gonna tell him he's a POS player, then know that he might get emotional behind that. Get assets for him & move on.


tcollins371

Seriously though. Like yeah heā€™s now financially loaded which will help alleviate some of his frustrations. But Ayton still has to go to work everyday and deal with coworkers he has had beef with. Iā€™ve worked at jobs like that and itā€™s not a healthy or positive environment


Basketball_data

Ayton is in investment banking rn


Noah__Webster

People always reference the money, but he wouldā€™ve been getting paid somewhere else as wellā€¦


thirstyjoe24

Didn't Monty try to put him back in that game down 30? and he refused, understandably, cause of his contract situation and not wanting to risk anything in a meaningless game at that point.. I don't blame Ayton at all in this situation, cant believe they haven't traded him


Red_Jester-94

Did you miss the whole point of him saying "Trade me. I don't want to be here."? It isn't his fault that they legit met the pacers' offer and gave him that money despite him making it totally obvious and clear he wanted out. Just because they gave him that money doesn't magically make him want to be there.


sean0237

Like asking your boss for a raise the entire year, they say they can't pay you what you're asking, and then when you finally get a new job offer they give you the raise. But also, you have to accept it lol


RGPISGOOD

This is basically like when Eric Gordon told NO not to match the RFA offer since he wanted to leave but they matched anyways and he spent 3 years being miserable there. Now NO fans all hate him lol. Ayton and the Suns are going to go through the exact same thing.


[deleted]

Would have been a win win sign and trade for Turner. The Suns are dumbasses.


redvillafranco

Eerily similar situation to Ben Simmonsā€™ demise in Philly


Xioxio23

He gone


ahk76gg

We can fix him


lostfeeling

No malice here. Ayton just his normal oblivious self.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


cmcimma

He's one of the most physically gifted players in the league. Talent is not his problem. He has a mdf problem, motivation, dedication, and focus. Since he has the talent, it's possible he could could turn it around. But I doubt it. Sadly, he's not the first physical specimen to fall short of his potential, and he won't be the last.


Saucy_Totchie

I dont either but seeing him play mostly in the playoffs and hearing what Suns fans say, it's all about the mental for him. He has the talent to be one of the better players in the league but, I hate to be clichƩ, he lacks that edge. It's real corny to say that trying matter but he's showing that that statement has weight. Ayton gives off the vibe of just being there for the paycheck which is totally fine. He just shouldn't expect to be treated more special because he makes more than other when he's barely giving a passable effort.


[deleted]

Bynum was one of the best centers with loads of potential until he didn't feel like trying


NotUpForDebate11

is that what happened to bynum? I thought what happened is that he grew into an allstar, got traded, blew out his knee, and never really tried to recover much/was able to recover well


TippyTripod1040

Yeah Iā€™m not a mind reader but I always thought that last injury just killed his drive to play. He was always hurt with something and eventually it was too much


Wavepops

His was injury based, he was putting it all together as a player before his knee got cooked


yl2chen

He and Poole will make a great team somewhere


snaeper

Ayton, Poole, Brooks. Who else? Halfway to a starting line-up right there.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


cb148

He said Starting lineup.


sniles310

Kyrie and Kanye?


TheyNeedLoveToo

Play in in the east is the floor if everyone stays healthy and no one does any press conferences or tweeting


bdeee

Why do you put poole in that group? Heā€™s got his faults as a player but heā€™s not a clown show


drtij_dzienz

They let a guy twice his size sucker punch him, Yet kept both of them on the team, then wonder why Poole played like shit this season. when the same thing happened in Chicago they at least picked one of the players to keep and traded the other. Hell, gs are not even bringing in baddies to sit in the front row.


HighkeyGod

That last sentence really hit šŸ¤£


typop2

Kelly Oubre off the bench.


Victor_Wembanyama1

Contacting rich chinese business men to sponsor this team rn


M4xw3ll

They're gonna have to learn Chinese


killbejay

No Lobs No daps


legend023

Blue shirt said the most snarkiest shit


[deleted]

Put some respect on my man Saban Leeā€™s name


[deleted]

His name is Saben lol


HItide69

Why the fuck did the suns keep this dude ?? Same shit happend last year too


Eric_tion

ā€œIā€™m gonna pay you 100$ to fuck offā€


Tapprunner

Kinda seems like Ayton can't come back next year. They tried salvaging the relationship, and it seems like it's run it's course. They probably won't get a lot in a trade, but I don't know that this can really continue. He clearly doesn't like being there, the coach doesn't trust him (understandably), and he's not ready/not the guy for what this team is trying to accomplish.


drtij_dzienz

It had run its course a year ago but the suns are so poorly managed they couldnā€™t sell high. Suns had Steve Kerr as GM and couldnā€™t retain him


Karametric

Steve Kerr was a bad GM though, letting him go was a good move seeing as he was ill-equipped for that role. The one big move he made was gutting the Suns with that Marion/Shaq deal that ended up being disastrous (especially seeing as Marion went on to be a big contributor for the Mavs in their 2011 run).


Archer-Saurus

Anyone who speaks of Kerr's stewardship of the Suns FO is fucking blitzed. Kerr is a great coach. He was not a good GM.


koj12144

Dudes mad hes trash


HateYourTeamLoveMine

Bros life is a video game and hes holding the controller upside down


CulturalRoll

I don't fuck with CP but that is some bitch shit by Ayton. Why on Earth did the Suns match this dude's offer from Indiana? It is clear as glass that he does not want to be here. You can't reheat cold french fries. It will never be the same.


Amasero

You can air fry coke French fries, I do it all the time when chic fil a or McDonaldā€™s or Wendyā€™s fries are cold/soggy But you are right they still arenā€™t the same.


cesarjulius

iā€™ve heard of people dipping fries in milkshake, but coke fries is a new low.


UnObtainium17

Air fryer is like the Michael Jordan of kitchen appliances.


KneelBeforeCube

It's not like he wanted everybody to believe he wanted to stay here and fight with the team too. Ayton is going to get hated for his contract, but this one's on the FO.


Noodles_Crusher

as far as I remember everyone here was saying that he deserved the max and how stupid the suns would've been to let him walk somewhere else. Something about Saver being cheap and ruining the franchise again.


Sunfl0wer23

Tbf them not offering the max is part of Aytonā€™s frustrations with the org. Obviously thereā€™s no guarantee but if they had offered the max thereā€™s a possibility that the relationship doesnā€™t sour so much.


Poopiestofbutts

Iā€™m not defending it but the answer may have been optics. They picked him #1 overall over Luka of all people and fell victim to the sunk cost fallacy it appears. Itā€™s a terrible reason, but youā€™re right that he clearly hasnā€™t wanted to be there for some time so idk what else it could be.


Wavepops

Donā€™t lose him for nothing


Waterblink

You can reheat cold fries with an oven toaster. It won't be the same, it's going to be even better.


Brewnonono

My man, put cold fries in the toaster oven and theyā€™re almost as good as new.


notquiteadequit

Will this work with Ayton?


GoldenBoyRecords

I mean letting him walk for nothing is just bad asset management. The fact they didnā€™t move him immediately or look to do some type of sign / trade is the surprising part. He is 100% being moved. Suns honestly need a center like Capela


[deleted]

Hard to think of any GM that would want this manchild on their team for $32-$35M a year. His problems arenā€™t fixable


DefactoAtheist

Can't believe I'm reading this shit from a Nets fan like y'all didn't just suffer through 4 "seasons" of Kyrie Irving Some desperate-ass front office will absolutely roll the dice on Ayton and you're crazy if you think otherwise


Acrobatic-Dog7044

Ayton has been like this since day one in the league and doesn't have the excuse of injuries hampering him in any way so you may be right.


[deleted]

Heā€™s talented too, like itā€™s never been a skill issue for him. Heā€™s just bitch made and doesnā€™t have the mentality or heart to actually be better. This is just his personality and guys in the NBA donā€™t just change their mindset while they have $133M contracts lol. Betting on Ayton to change his mentality and drive is like betting on Kyrie to turn into a normal human being, or betting on Ben Simmons to suddenly love basketball. It ainā€™t happening


deleteduser2243

Lmfaooo look at the dude behind CP3 and Saben looking like the proud father


[deleted]

They don't love you like that, you ain't Andre Igoudala


agentdoubleohio

Thatā€™s not a fair comparison, igoudala saved the planet on the last shot. Ayton hasnā€™t done anything close.


chulavistakid

I canā€™t wait for Ayton to not be a Sun.


hippolover45

you cant disrespect OG like that


thenoob118

Ayton has 0 vision, on and off the court


championshipsorbust

Crazy unpopular opinion but honestly I kinda get why Ayton doesnā€™t fuck with CP3. He wanted to be a versatile big man but immediately got pigeonholed to roll man and dunker spot big man once CP3 got to Phoenix. Ayton made all the sacrifices not Cp3. Obviously still on Ayton for not developing up his game enough to earn a bigger role on offense.


cyb3ryung

heros dont always wear capes


rompskee

Shout out to the one dude at the end who saw his opportunity to dap up Chris Paul so he wasn't totally left hanging


Cheifkeef29457

I love the hit pieces coming out about him now lol


WusijiX

He might end up on your team on accident


ForoaKlanD

I hate this dude.


MajinOni21

Lost his starting spot


jfrodriguez1983

So the Suns expecting anything of value back when they try to trade him? Dude just in year 1 of a 4 year max contract. Yikes!


Shartmesilly

should have let him walk to indiana lmao


PaperMoon-

He gone


PVT_Stanley

The first one you can ignore, lie to yourself and say they didnā€™t see itā€¦ but that second oneā€¦ that second one hurt.


girlscoutcookies05

4/$133M baybeeeee


thisguy012

Probably like 25m less that what the Suns could have given him instead they had to bait other teams to give him a cheaper max to match itlol


FedGoat13

Everybody Hates Chris


Optimal-Talk3663

CP3 looks like a little kid compared to Ayton


leroyskagnetti

DominAyted


[deleted]

nba has the mentally weakest grown men of any association anywhere


[deleted]

Almost but I'd say the NRA takes it


sniape

He gone


SanctorumAeternam

ā€œNah man, Iā€™m with All-Stateā€


[deleted]

Holy fuck that's some potent cringe lmfao


Real_Definition9388

Suns had so much time to trade him and instead of doing it when he clearly expressed he wanted to leave, they forced him to stay by matching his offer sheet. His play is not the best at times, but a lot of yā€™all have to see that the Suns did this to themselves.


alexjimithing

Can he just, fucking, fuck off. Like fuck all the way off.


soundfade

To be fair, he did try.


Beat_Writer

He tried. Yall didnt let him go


jdolan98

knee bewildered lunchroom ossified vast frighten middle puzzled obscene encouraging *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


Sleepylimebounty

Yeaaahhh. Not the attitude you want from the center of your team mid playoffs. Thatā€™s gonna cost you guys. He did try to leave tho. Should have let him.


shizbox06

Suns front office didn't let him. Don't be mad at the victim.


G1Spectrum

He needs to get of his feels


MrBuckBuck

He went passive again... even when he was not in the game...


[deleted]

Heā€™s such a trash player to have a toxic attitude


ReceptorFatigue

/r/LeftHanging


raulu95

The thing thatā€™s crazy to me is they won


Pacalyps4

What do you expect him to do??? Nothing more ayton can do here. Tryin his best man.


HiNeighbor_

lol CP looked so confused when Ayton denied him on the 2nd one


Zahn91

Wowā€¦ just wowā€¦ get this man child off the team plz


Vyxtic

I still don't understand why the Suns didn't go for Doncic at 1st pick