Advertisement

Phoenix Suns to face Deandre Ayton, Portland Trail Blazers twice in preseason

duane rankin, arizona republic
·2 min read
2

The Phoenix Suns' preseason schedule just got even juicer.

The Suns will now face Deandre Ayton twice in the preseason as they play Oct. 12 in Portland and Oct. 16 in Phoenix. They traded Ayton to the Blazers as part of a three-team deal Wednesday with All-Star guard Damian Lillard going to Milwaukee.

Portland sent 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson to Phoenix while the Bucks traded Grayson Allen to the Suns. Milwaukee dealt Bucks All-Star Jrue Holiday, a 2029 first-round pick and a pick swap to the Blazers.

Ayton will make his first return to Phoenix in the regular season on Nov. 21 at Footprint Center.

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) defends Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) during the first half at Moda Center in Portland on Oct. 21, 2022.
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) defends Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) during the first half at Moda Center in Portland on Oct. 21, 2022.

The former Suns big averaged a double-double in each of his five NBA seasons, but is now with a new team Phoenix will see twice in the preseason and four times in the regular season.

The Suns open a five-game preseason slate on the road Oct. 8 against Monty Williams and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons hired Williams to the richest contract ever for an NBA contract at six years, $78.5 million after the Suns fired him following the 2023 NBA playoffs.

The Suns lost to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in six games in the Western Conference semifinals.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shakes hands with Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) after winning Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, eliminating the Suns, at Footprint Center in Phoenix on May 11, 2023.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shakes hands with Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) after winning Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, eliminating the Suns, at Footprint Center in Phoenix on May 11, 2023.

Two days after facing Detroit, Phoenix plays its first preseason home game on Oct. 10 versus the Nuggets.

The Suns follow that up with the home-away matchups against Portland before concluding preseason play on Oct. 19 against the Los Angeles Lakers in Palm Desert, Calif.

Phoenix kicks off the regular season on Oct. 24 at Golden State on opening night of the NBA. The Suns open training camp on Tuesday.

Read Moore: Are they nuts? Suns will regret trading Deandre Ayton to Portland

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Deandre Ayton returns to Phoenix in preseason after trade to Blazers