The Phoenix Suns certainly have a lot of young talent, including No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, but they aren't winning a lot of games.
The Suns currently own a record of 11-47 and have lost 14 games in a row, most recently falling to the Sacramento Kings by a score of 117-104 on Sunday.
While Ayton says the team definitely doesn't lack effort, he says maturity is an issue, especially in the middle of adverse situations:
“Maturity, I’ll say—yea, definitely maturity,” said Ayton when asked about what the hardest part is for a young team when wins aren't coming, according to Josh Eberley of NBA.com. “The competitiveness and the effort is there. It’s just the maturity when things aren’t going our way, we can’t just turn it down a notch. Or certain individuals aren’t really getting what they want out there—it gets contagious, we’re young. We just have to know our roles as individuals and what we can bring to the team to contribute to a win. Once we get that—I know my role, he knows his role, come on let’s work together and get this thing done.”
Ayton, who was selected by the Suns with the No. 1 overall pick of the NBA Draft last June, is having a fantastic rookie campaign, averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and two assists over 31 minutes per game while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor and 77.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Throw Devin Booker, T.J. Warren and Josh Jackson into the mix, and Phoenix actually has a very impressive stable of young talent.
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