Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns has been suspended by the NBA for 25 games due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Deandre Ayton Suspended 25 Games
The Deandre Ayton suspension is a huge blow to the Phoenix Suns organization. The number 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft will miss 25 games after testing positive for a banned substance. The NBA announced the suspension after Ayton was caught using a diuretic which is a banned substance under the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
Ayton did play in the first game of the season and looked very impressive. He scored 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. The Suns won that game and have actually looked very impressive defensively under new head coach Monty Williams.
Why Would Ayton Use Diuretic?
In a statement that he released following the announcement of his suspension, Deandre Ayton apologized to everyone and said he didn’t know what he had put in his body. That may or may not be true considering his statement was the same generic one that most athletes that get caught with banned substances use.
The reason for using a diuretic by anything athlete is for one of two reasons. You either use it to lose weight fast or you use it to hide something that you’ve been taking. Regardless of why it was used, it’s cheating plain and simple. It is a substance that is abused by and is banned on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.
Should We Believe Ayton’s Story?
The question of whether he did on purpose or not is almost irrelevant. In a court of law, the argument of being able to prove intent is nearly impossible. Only Deandre Ayton really knows if he did it on purpose or not. The other person that might need to be questioned is his trainer. The teams in the NBA provide trainers but every top level pro has their own personal guy. That would be the only other person that could have administered the substance to Deandre Ayton.
The big problem for Ayton and the Suns is it really doesn’t matter if he knew or not. The illegal substance being in his body means suspension regardless of whose fault it is. The Suns will have to try and cope without their big man for about 20% of the season which puts them in a rough spot.
Ayton Sitting Could Be a Blessing in Disguise
If you’re a Suns fan looking for a silver lining in this story, you may already be looking at it. Since Ayton went out, the team hasn’t missed a beat. All of a sudden, the Suns play real defense. That hasn’t been seen in Phoenix in so long I’m not sure what era to even harken back to. They just knocked off the favorites to win the NBA championship, the Clippers. It’s hard to see how Deandre Ayton not being there could be a good thing but if the Suns can keep getting quality wins in his absence, when he comes back, they may have just taken the next step towards getting back to respectability.
