Chris Paul on Deandre Ayton contract situation: He knows what he has to do

The 23-year-old big man admitted he was not happy with how negotiations went and in turn will become a restricted free agent following the 2021-22 season. “With D.A. and his situation, we talked about it,” Paul told Yahoo Sports. “He knows what he has to do. The goal for everybody is to see everyone getting paid. His situation is what it is, but it’s going to work out for him. We hope it works out for him. The biggest thing we know we can do is go out there and win games.”
Source: Chris Haynes @ Yahoo! Sports

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Chris Paul on Ayton: His situation is what it is, but it’s going to work out for him
sportando.basketball/en/chris-paul-… – 2:29 PM

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
Chris Paul to @YahooSports on advice he instills about inner circles and how he believes Suns will handle expectations now that key teammates are paid – with the exception of Deandre Ayton: “His situation is what it is, but it’s going to work out for him.” sports.yahoo.com/chris-paul-on-… – 1:32 PM

James Ham @James_HamNBA
In his first three games, Kings rookie Davion Mitchell has played against Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson, Stephen Curry and Jordan Clarkson (and others). Steph was the toughest. Next up, Devin Booker and Chris Paul. pic.twitter.com/X0zHSmkNEO – 12:28 AM

Michael Scotto @MikeAScotto
Ja Morant told me he’s a top 5 point guard in the NBA, along with Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Dame Lillard and Russell Westbrook before the season. More from my conversation with @Ja Morant on @Jorge Sierra. hoopshype.com/lists/ja-moran… – 12:05 AM

Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
First part of our inventory for our startup just cleared customs. We’ve been working hard for over a year. Can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on. Company backed by @Damian Lillard @Chris Paul @Jamal Crawford and more. @micahkatz @kampashai – 12:17 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Ayton picks up 3rd foul early in 3rd. #Suns down 71-49. – 11:21 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
#RipCity 67 #Suns 47 H.
POR: Powell 16 (10 in 2nd quarter), Lillard 14 (4-of-6 FGs, 5-of-5 FTS). McCollum 13 (3-of-7 from 3)
PHX: Booker 12 (5-of-9). McGee 10 (5-of-7). Chris Paul 0 pts (0-of-2 FGs), 8 assists.
FG: #Suns 47.7% (4-of-12 on 3s). #Blazers 55.8% (10-of-23 on 3s). – 11:09 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Halftime: POR 67, PHX 47
Booker: 12 Pts, 2 Ast, 5-9 FG
McGee: 10 Pts, 2 Reb
Ayton: 6 Pts
Powell: 16 Pts, 6-8 FG – 11:04 PM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
Chris Paul remains ridiculous pic.twitter.com/NKO8U61Qaj – 10:54 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Ayton finds Bridges out of post for 3. #Suns 6-0 spurt. Down 51-38. – 10:52 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
They ran a play and Ayton had the ball in the middle of the lane, deep post position, and faded away for shot.
That could also be turn into Nurkic and draw contact, go up, or a couple of dribbles and a dunk.
#Suns down 51-32 after Powell 3. Timeout with 6:05 left in 1st half. – 10:47 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
End of 1Q: POR 30, PHX 24
Booker: 9 Pts, 2 Ast, 4-6 FG
Ayton: 6 Pts, 1 Blk
McGee: 4 Pts, 2 Reb
Lillard: 5 Pts, 5 Ast – 10:34 PM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
Strong start for the Blazers.
Ayton has looked good. Smart decisions offensively and a few active plays defensively. – 10:25 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Paul fires it inside to Ayton for dunk. #Suns down 16-15. – 10:22 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Ayton set two screens in a three-man game with Paul and Booker that led to Booker open jumper.
Booker connects.
#Suns down 9-8 in 1st.
Booker now hearing it from crowd as they show replay of his follow through that caught Nurkic in the face.
He was down for a minute. – 10:17 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Stepback jumper from Booker.
Booker blow by Covington for layup.
Powell answers.
Ayton answers.
#Suns up 6-5 – 10:14 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Chris Paul goes over and gives Chauncey Billups a hug before the tip. #Suns #RipCity. – 10:11 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Recent #Suns stories:
Robert Sarver “shocked” by racism, sexism allegations https://t.co/clc4ek2xjy
Chris Paul #NBA75 honor, makes 20K/10K history https://t.co/9MW9ZauuW8
Suns address Sarver allegations, top #Lakers https://t.co/wNrpDktEGc
5 takeaways https://t.co/vZEgzLndtg pic.twitter.com/XgQq6OAnla – 4:03 PM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
I asked Monty Williams in training camp about Deandre Ayton doing this and he said they want to see more of it. Ayton can dribble attack from any DHO spot when the space is there. Even when it doesn’t work out initially he still creates an open 3 here. pic.twitter.com/d4h5G4ckaE – 2:53 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“Like a kid.”
Chris Paul secures game ball after becoming first player in #NBA75 history to post 20K points and 10K assists.
And no, Devin Booker isn’t trying to put the ball on eBay. #Suns pic.twitter.com/7YJ9aXRXEF – 1:51 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“We control what we can control.”
Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges talk about staying focused on #Lakers game after allegations were directed at #Suns team owner Robert Sarver. pic.twitter.com/gMxVUKuPA4 – 1:45 PM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Last night, Chris Paul became the first player in NBA history to reach career totals of 20,000 points and 10,000 assists.
Of the 47 players who have scored at least 20,000 career points, only four reached that mark at an older age than Paul (36 years, 169 days). pic.twitter.com/KNAOx3LjRG – 11:11 AM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
With Chris Paul and Devin Booker making history in a Suns blowout win over the Lakers, it was easy to forget about Mikal Bridges.
For @PHNX_Suns, I wrote about why opposing defenses will soon learn they can’t keep making that mistake: bit.ly/3vDmbAp – 11:05 AM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Chris Paul last night:
✅ 23 PTS
✅ 5 REB
✅ 14 AST
Paul became the first player in NBA history to reach career totals of 20,000 points and 10,000 assists. pic.twitter.com/w9SPCO2nUP – 8:30 AM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
Devin Booker described it as a jumpstart to the team. Monty Williams said it can be something like only 3 shots that change the entire game.
Chris Paul had another one of those dominating spurts tonight and the Suns didn’t look back from there: arizonasports.com/story/2862292/… – 2:00 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
#Suns reactions to team owner Robert Sarver allegations.
Chris Paul talked about having “solid” locker room.
Devin Booker said “something has to come out first” before commenting.
Mikal Bridges said “we all have distractions in this world,” but said they just “locked in” #Suns – 1:34 AM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
“It’s unbelievable watching him going up all-time.” – Mikal Bridges on watching Chris Paul make history, saying he’s blessed to be his teammate and friend – 1:22 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Chris Paul’s brother and Devin Booker’s dad watched the game together from the bench. #Suns pic.twitter.com/9GBka0ahTh – 1:17 AM

Malika Andrews @malika_andrews
Chris Paul gets the game ball after becoming the first player to reach 20K points and 10K assists: “When you get done playing this game, you want to have things to remember things. I’m going to keep this for sure.” pic.twitter.com/FUYIOExqMm – 1:17 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Chris Paul taking picture with fan, who was wearing a Paul black Wake Forest jersey.
#Suns win as Paul makes history in becoming first player in #NBA75 history to reach 20K points and 10K assists.
Finished with 23 points and 14 assists.
Paul signed the fan’s shoes. #Lakers pic.twitter.com/oLJUEVHNt5 – 12:51 AM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
Suns beat the Lakers to get their first win of the season. Chris Paul took over in the second quarter and then everything came together on both ends. 23-5-14-2 for him. Mikal Bridges was that dude tonight with 21-5-3-3-1. Devin Booker added 22-5-4. – 12:37 AM

Allen Sliwa @AllenSliwa
Lakers start the Season 0-2…Suns Win 115-105…
LA – LBJ 25pts…AD 22pts 14rebs…Russ 15pts 11rebs 9ast
PHX – CP3 23pts 14ast…Booker 22pts…Bridges 21pts
Thoughts Laker Fans? – 12:36 AM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Technical fouls on Anthony Davis and Deandre Ayton, but it comes after Booker gets an open 3, and hits it. #Suns up 20. – 12:19 AM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Double technical fouls on Deandre Ayton and Anthony Davis. – 12:19 AM

Brad Turner @BA_Turner
AD and Ayton both hit with Techs in the fourth – 12:19 AM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
End of 3Q: PHX 94, LAL 67
Paul: 19 Pts, 12 Ast, 5-8 FG
Booker: 19 Pts, 4 Ast, 8-15 FG
Ayton: 8 Pts, 14 Reb
James: 18 Pts, 6-14 FG – 12:00 AM

Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
Ayton ain’t JTA. And that’s not a knock on JTA. He just had no chance of containing AD. – 11:47 PM

Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
CP3 dancing on AD back-to-back possessions pic.twitter.com/HiKM3lA0HU – 11:45 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Chris Paul is a cold-blooded killer man – 11:39 PM

Kyle Kuzma @kylekuzma
Chris Paul middy so unreal – 11:39 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Phoenix #Suns: Chris Paul celebrates NBA 75th honor, makes lone history in becoming first player in #NBA75 history to score at least 20K points and dish out 10K assists.
Has 11 and 10 in 1st half as #Suns up 57-44 at half on #Lakers. https://t.co/nT4aHdww6J via @azcentral pic.twitter.com/zcuTnEsPBW – 11:23 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Halftime: PHX 57, LAL 44
Bridges: 12 Pts, 5-6 FG
Paul: 11 Pts, 10 Ast
Ayton: 6 Pts, 7 Reb
James: 11 Pts, 3-4 3P – 11:13 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Rondo bothers Ayton on a post-up that he misses, then sinks a three on the other end. This game is wild, y’all. – 11:10 PM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
That was a pivotal 5-point swing for the Lakers. Booker botched the lob pass to Ayton, who was wide open. The Lakers push the ball the other way and Rondo drills an open corner 3 to cut the Suns’ lead to eight, 49-41, with 3:13 left in the first half. Important stretch coming up. – 11:06 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Here’s Chris Paul getting his 7th point to reach 20,000 and become 1st player in #NBA75 history to score 20K and dish out 10K assists.
It came on a FT after drawing foul on Dwight Howard. Has 11 and 9 assists in the game. #Suns up 42-38 midway through 2nd quarter. #Lakers #NBA pic.twitter.com/PxwE7N8Clt – 11:03 PM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
LeBron was in at the start of the 2nd, probably because those CP3 + reserves minutes are deadly and killed the Lakers in lsat year’s series. But now LeBron has to rest with most of the Suns’ starters in. Tough call. – 11:02 PM

Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
Chris Paul leads the Suns with 11 points, but he’s only made one field goal. He’s 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. – 11:01 PM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
Chris Paul has snatched up this game – 11:01 PM

Eliot Clough @EliotClough
Well
Chris Paul is the first player in NBA history to register 20,000 points and 10,000 assists
That makes me happy – 10:58 PM

Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Come on, Dwight… Why bite on CP3’s antics? Smh – 10:58 PM

Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
Chris Paul becomes the first player in NBA history with 20,000 points and 10,000 assists. – 10:57 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Chris Paul just scored his 20,000th career point, amidst a FT parade early in the 2nd Q. – 10:57 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Chris Paul is the first player in NBA history with 20,000 points and 10,000 assists.
Point. God. pic.twitter.com/3xyo0xGOpL – 10:57 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Chris Paul stands alone.
First player in #NBA75 history to score 20K points and dish out 10K assists in his NBA career. #Suns pic.twitter.com/19dimfqcqF – 10:57 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Never change, Chris Paul. – 10:57 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Chris Paul one point away from 20K. #Suns – 10:55 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
The Suns are already in the bonus, with the 5th PF on the Lakers coming at the 8:39 mark of the 2nd Q, resulting in 2 CP3 FT’s, bringing PHX within 1 at 33-32 after Monk hit a 3 on the other end. No PF’s on PHX yet.
PHX was the 2nd-best FT shooting team ever last year at 83.4%. – 10:55 PM

Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
CP3 rip-through alert cc: @Gina Mizell – 10:55 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
In my upcoming non-basketball moves story that’s dropping this weekend, the Jae Crowder drawing fouls on 3s and Chris Paul’s rip through move are topics of discussion in it. #Suns – 10:54 PM

NBA Kicks @NBAKicks
⭐️ @Chris Paul reps for @FAMU_1887 on his #NBAKicks! pic.twitter.com/Z8C4QR5UDm – 10:52 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
End of 1Q: LAL 26, PHX 23
Crowder: 6 Pts, 3-5 FG
Bridges: 5 Pts
Ayton: 2 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Stl
Westbrook: 8 Pts, 3 Ast – 10:39 PM

Nick DePaula @NickDePaula
#FAMU shout from @Chris Paul. 🐍 pic.twitter.com/MJ331lXwIN – 10:28 PM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
DJ guarding CP3 in the corner briefly at STAPLES Center and… yeah I remember 😄 pic.twitter.com/RVC2AjWHUh – 10:27 PM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Frank Vogel says the Lakers are going with the same starting lineup with DeAndre Jordan at the 5 alongside Anthony Davis. Mentioned Deandre Ayton’s size and how “he shot 80% against us in the playoffs” as part of his reasoning – 8:17 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
After making #NBA75 greatest ever team, #Suns All-Star point guard Chris Paul 7 points shy of being first player in #NBA history to post 20K career points, 10K career assists (w/video interview with Paul). https://t.co/nT4aHdww6J pic.twitter.com/5DfFKF1T2B – 7:43 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Chris Paul, who was a member of the Clippers when the Donald Sterling recording blew up, has to be thinking “not this again.” – 6:59 PM

More on this storyline

Duane Rankin: “One thing about me, throughout my whole life, I’ve always learned to control what I can control. At the same time, obviously I’m disappointed, but I’m still trying to get us back to the finals.” #Suns big Deandre Ayton addressing contract talks as they ended w/o an extension. pic.twitter.com/nJPmkUMqCi -via Twitter @DuaneRankin / October 21, 2021

The 2018 No. 1 overall pick — who helped lead Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals — was reportedly expecting an offer, but it never came. Ayton expressed his disappointment about the development. He can still re-sign with the Suns in restricted free agency after fielding offers from around the league. “My biggest advice for him is: control what you can control and that’s how you go out and hoop,” Paul said, per AZ Central’s Duane Rankin. “Things happen, the business of the game, but I know DA’s heart … and how competitive he is. At the end of the day, he wants to do a good job for our team. And I appreciate him for that. I know when we step out on the court tonight, it’s going to be all about what he’s gotta do to help our team win.” -via Clutch Points / October 20, 2021

Scotto: Deandre and his representation, Billy Duffy and Nima Namakian, made it clear they wanted a max, and Phoenix made it clear they didn’t view him as a max player. With that in mind, I was checking in with executives around the league for their thoughts on the Ayton situation. The first executive said to me, “That owner (Robert Sarver) is cheap, and he’ll get killed for it again. He finally had some goodwill making the Finals, and he pulls this (not extending Ayton). The fact is the kid earned it. Yes, prior to last season, I’d have questions about it, but he performed the whole season, and you invested a number one pick in him. He was a little bit, maybe, slow to develop, but he got there. I don’t think he’s mature enough to handle stuff like that (no extension), so I think it could hurt him for a while. Monty (Williams) seems to have a way with him, so maybe they can pull him back in and say, “Do your job and get paid.” -via HoopsHype / October 20, 2021