PHOENIX — It isn’t every day you see a report come along on some internal happenings with the Phoenix Suns.
That is by design, an effort by Phoenix to not let things get leaked and reported on. If you think about it from their prespective, that’s the right way to do it.
That’s why it’s always surprising when a story like Tuesday’s from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on contract extension talks stalling between the team and Deandre Ayton breaks.
Head coach Monty Williams shared a similar sentiment when asked about it after practice.
“I just heard about it not too long ago and I can’t say much unless I’ve seen it,” he said. “I’ve heard about it. It’s unfortunate. We typically, as you guys have seen, our stuff rarely gets out. So, when it does get out like that or somebody writes about what’s going on here, probably not true when you didn’t hear me, (general manager) James (Jones) or (owner) Robert (Sarver) say anything about it.
“You can’t control that stuff. It’s pretty obvious that we value all of our guys. This is a new situation for me because I don’t think I’ve been a head coach and been a part of these young guys who blossom into good players and now they’re up for (expensive contracts). This is new for me. It’s not my job to pay guys. If it was my job, everybody would be rich. I would try to pay everybody. The cap isn’t based on my heart. The organization would be broke but everybody would be happy.
“When I hear about stuff like that, that’s not how we do business. We haven’t operated that way since I’ve been here and so, it’s not disappointing, it’s just a new world. We got to navigate that.”
The report’s existence provides an indication as to what we could have guessed was going on before. When Ayton was not joining Luka Doncic and Trae Young in being given a max contract extension in early August as soon as the window opened, it was obvious there were some negotiations still afoot.
Wojnarowski’s report confirms that. Like Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute and Andy Bernard on an average weekday in “The Office,” we’ve got ourselves an old-fashioned standoff.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t end like that one did, and that someone doesn’t have crossbows ready like Dwight.