NBA

Deandre Ayton, Monty Williams had cryptic ‘internal’ drama during Suns debacle

Were the Suns dealing with internal issues amid Sunday’s Game 7 blowout loss to the Mavericks?

Phoenix coach Monty Williams benched big man Deandre Ayton in the second half of the Western Conference semifinals series finale, and played coy about the situation after the game, telling reporters “it’s internal” when asked about Ayton only playing 17 minutes.

Williams subbed in center Bismack Biyombo for Ayton a few minutes into the third quarter. Ayton, who was limited to five points and four rebounds in his final game of the season, did not speak to reporters after the loss.

It’s unclear what happened between Williams and Ayton. According to a number of reports, the two had a verbal spat on the sidelines and had to be separated by Suns coaches. The situation wasn’t captured by broadcast cameras.

Deandre Ayton on the Suns bench during the season-ending loss to Mavericks on May 15, 2022. USA TODAY Sports
Monty Williams on the Suns sideline. Getty Images

Williams allegedly asked Ayton if he wanted to play and then immediately yanked him out of the game, an apparent witness tweeted after the game.

Ayton — the Suns’ No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft — is a restricted free agent with a cap hold of $31.5 million.  He was not satisfied with his contract last October, when he was pushing for a five-year max contract worth $172.5 million, but Phoenix wasn’t willing to make that offer. 

Phoenix star guard Devin Booker had an interesting comment about Ayton’s contract situation after the game.

Deandre Ayton defended by Luka Doncic USA TODAY Sports

“His contract situation is between him and the front office,” Booker said. “I care about him as a brother. Just making sure his mental is right…whatever happens, happens. Kind of hard to look so far in the future.”