'Best competitor' Deandre Ayton says he's certain he'll go to Suns with top pick

PHOENIX — Deandre Ayton walked into the Talking Stick Arena media room sporting black Phoenix Suns gear from head to toe.

The former Arizona Wildcats star plans to stay for a long time.

“I know I’m going No. 1,” Ayton said following Wednesday’s workout with the Suns. “On a competitive level, I’m the best competitor. I don’t think there’s nobody like me. I play my heart out at both ends of the floor and I give it my all. I played hard throughout the whole season and I think I deserve to be the No. 1 pick.”

The 7-foot-1-inch, 260-pound Ayton is viewed by most — including his college coach, Sean Miller — as the top player available in the June 21 draft. The Suns hold the No. 1 overall pick, and all indications are that general manager Ryan McDonough will not trade down.

Ayton said Wednesday that he will not work out for any other team.

The Suns will continue to visit with a small group of players to keep their options open — the team also picks No. 16 overall — but the franchise is high on Ayton moving forward. McDonough was pleased with how Ayton’s workout fared, and said “it was everything as expected.”

McDonough consistently kept tabs on Ayton over the last year.

“It’s a big day for the franchise,” McDonough said. “We watched him closely at Arizona and we’ve scouted him heavily in person, in games, in practice and on film. And he showed us what we expected to see and did a really good job in a one-on-zero setting.”

McDonough added that he was most impressed with Ayton’s perimeter shooting.

“He did it some at Arizona, but that wasn’t his role,” McDonough said. “You didn’t get to see him on the perimeter a whole lot.

“He shot the NBA 3 pretty comfortably. He’s got really good form, good touch, good rotation on the ball for a guy that size, so that was a little bit unique. … He shot the ball very well.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

At the UA, the Ayton shot 34.3 percent from 3-point range while averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. He scarcely operated from the perimeter, but with the new wave of versatile NBA big men, a consistent outside jumpshot is a necessity.

The only Suns frontcourt player that shot better than Ayton last season was power forward Dragan Bender, who hit 36.6 percent from 3-point range. As a team, the Suns finished last in 3-point shooting and No. 12 in rebounding.

McDonough says Ayton is the answer the Suns need.

“We’ve been looking for a center that could kind of anchor our team offensively and defensively. We think Deandre has that kind of potential,” McDonough said. “We certainly think he’s a unique player and a unique talent.”

The GM echoed what Miller said last week.

“I look at the NBA as trying to figure out who they’re going to pick from No. 2 to 60. I think the No. 1 pick’s in,” Miller said. “There’s nobody like Deandre. Nobody.”

Ayton is already developing relationships with his new potential teammates, which include a young nucleus made up of Devin Booker, Josh Jackson and Marquese Chriss. Ayton said he and Booker could be “Kobe and Shaq 2.0.”

The four players ate dinner Wednesday night, then watched Game 3 of the NBA Finals together.

Ayton has the ability and confidence of a No. 1 overall pick. He may be more mature than most, too.

Ayton’s name was included in an ESPN report linking Miller to the ongoing college basketball pay-for-play scandal. Ayton and Miller both decried the report as false; then the freshman led the Wildcats to a Pac-12 championship.

“I learned the true meaning of professionalism” during the drama,” Ayton said. “I didn’t react or pout about it, I just worked on my craft every day and helped my teammates get better.”

Now, he appears poised to become the first-ever Wildcat taken No. 1 overall. The ball is in the Suns’ court.