On the heels of confirming a multiyear footwear and apparel endorsement extension to continue his partnership with athletic giant Puma, Bahamian professional basketball player with the Phoenix Suns DeAndre Ayton finds himself in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols.
The Bahamian big man, who is averaging a double-double for a fourth consecutive season, was placed in the precautionary program on Monday, thereby missing the Suns game later that evening against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies went on to win that game, 114-113, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, as Grizzlies’ star Ja Morant hit a driving layup with just 0.5 seconds remaining on the clock.
As for Ayton, he is missing time for the third time this season but the first as a part of the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols for COVID-19. He missed six games in November for a right leg contusion and two games earlier this month for a non-COVID illness. Ayton joins starting forward Jae Crowder and Head Coach Monty Williams under the protocols. Suns guard Elfrid Payton was cleared and made available just before game time on Monday and went on to score two points and added two rebounds and a steal in nine minutes of play.
Under adjusted isolation rules, protocols require players to be sidelined at least six days or record two negative COVID-19 tests in a 24-hour period before they can resume basketball activities.
The fourth-year center is averaging 17 points and 11.1 rebounds per game this season while matching a career-high at 62.6 percent from the field in 30.7 minutes per game. He is shooting a career-low 66.2 percent from the free throw line.
Without Ayton in the line-up, the Suns have a 7-2 win/loss record, and are 26-7 on the season – one game behind the Golden State Warriors for the best overall record in the league. They host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9 p.m. this Wednesday before going on the road for three games.
Ayton is eligible to return on Sunday, January 2 against the Charlotte Hornets or produce two negative COVID-19 tests in a 24-hour period prior to that time.
The Suns is off to a blazing start this season, enjoying a franchise record 18-game winning streak at one point, and even claiming the league’s best record for a short period before being recently passed by the Warriors. Ayton has led the Suns in rebounding in 19 of the 24 games he has played in this season, and is just 1.2 points and 0.4 rebounds off his career-high numbers.
Ayton has started all 24 games at the center position he has played in this year. With his restructured Puma deal, he is expected to be among the league’s top-three highest paid athletic brand endorsers at the center position. In his three years in the league, Ayton has made strides with the Puma brand on and off the court, after initially helping to headline a marketing splash in the week leading up to the draft that had five first-round picks sign with Puma.
A key area of Ayton’s new Puma extension will be designating a sizable budget allotment for community activations and giveback events in Phoenix, The Bahamas, and additional regions of the Caribbean and Africa.
The post Ayton enters NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/ayton-enters-nbas-health-and-safety-protocols/
No comments:
Post a Comment