He played great this year. We had the greatest regular season in the history of this franchise and he played really well in some of our bigger games. He was a huge part of what we did.
We don’t beat the Pelicans without him. Yeah he melted down in game 7 but the entire team did. We were down by 47 at one point.
I really hate hearing this excuse. So what Ayton quit, the entire team did... The entire team wasn't seeking a max contract offer.
Game 7 was a gigantic blown opportunity for Ayton. Yes, the rest of the team played like crap. If he would have seized that moment, tried putting the team on his back, played like a madman to try to win, it really would have stood out in contrast to the rest of the team. I really think that would've sold the league on him.
Instead, he went the opposite direction, and because of whatever happened with Monty, stood out as the biggest quitter (whether that's fair or not, that's the optics).