Things ended a bit awkwardly last season for the Phoenix Suns.
The team was poised to push through the playoffs and make the Western Conference Finals or perhaps even the NBA Finals.
But it didn’t work out that way: Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavericks put a huge halt to the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals and sent them home dazed and confused.
Towards the end of Game 7 of that series, it became apparent that Suns head coach Monty Williams and big man Deandre Ayton weren’t seeing eye to eye.
They seemed upset with each other and tensions felt high.
Ayton and Monty Williams have yet to talk after the Suns' playoff semifinal loss to the Mavs 👀 pic.twitter.com/cA2xayjC6E
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 27, 2022
Then there was talk of the Suns losing Ayton during the offseason, a rumor that only strengthened the idea of dysfunction and anger behind the scenes.
Surprisingly, not a lot of work has been done to fix these issues.
“I haven’t spoke to [Williams] at all, ever since that game,” Ayton told the press the other day.
That’s a shocking statement coming from the player and it was confirmed by Williams, who brushed it off by saying, “I haven’t talked to a bunch of guys. I just wanted to give everybody a break.”
Giving players a break is understandable but not a single word spoken between these two for months is concerning.
Is the road ahead rocky for the Suns?
Silence On The Suns
They don’t have to like each other but they do need to work well together.
Williams and Ayton will need to work out their differences and come together for the good of the team and that means some uncomfortable and frank conversations.
The team has a lot to do in the months ahead, they will need to tweak their lineup and make sure they don’t fall apart again.
They cannot do that if the head coach isn’t speaking with one of the biggest stars on the team.
NEXT: The Suns Are Trying To Move Forward With Their Big 3
