Monty Williams' poor relationship with Deandre Ayton during the coach's time with the Phoenix Suns is well known around NBA circles. That's why many have thought that Ayton's time with the team was over when he was a restricted free agent in the 2022 offseason.

The Suns, however, matched the offer sheet that Ayton received from the Indiana Pacers as he made his way back to Arizona.

Apparently, though, Williams still wanted to get rid of Ayton instead of making it work with him. With that, he lobbied for the Suns to trade the 2018 no. 1 overall pick to the Pacers in exchange for Myles Turner.

“As far as Deandre Ayton, Monty didn't want him either. He wanted them to trade him to Indiana for Myles Turner. He didn’t like coaching Ayton. When Ayton signed his maximum contract when the Suns matched his offer sheet, Monty wasn’t even there and didn't show up when Ayton signed it at the arena or call him to say congratulations. Monty’s a good coach and a player's coach, but he's a player's coach for the players he likes, but he wasn't in on Jae and Deandre,” John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM told Michael Scotto on the Hoops Hype podcast.

As everyone knows, Monty Williams and Deandre Ayton were never able to resolve their differences, which certainly didn't help the Suns. In the end, Williams was fired and eventually took the head coaching job with the Detroit Pistons.

Deandre Ayton, meanwhile, remains with the Suns. Nonetheless, his future is in doubt as Phoenix tries to build a title contender around their new Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.