ICYMI: Phoenix Suns Star & Coach Have Heated Exchange During Timeout

It brought back shades of Media Day and the preseason. You'll recall that Deandre Ayton showed up at Phoenix Suns camp in a bitter mood, and seemingly feuding with his head coach, who he said at the time that he hadn't spoken to since the Suns' Game 7 playoff elimination back in May.

Ayton and Monty Williams were going at it again for all to see, during a timeout of the Phoenix Suns' 113-110 loss to the Washington Wizards Tuesday night.

Deandre Ayton and the Suns were getting chippy in the huddle last night 👀

(via @Goober2221) pic.twitter.com/yMlgEpWjXZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 21, 2022

The two were arguing loudly and pointing fingers, nearly face-to-face. Afterwards, Ayton shrugged it off as the result of a poor team performance:

"Everybody got to see us really intensified in the moment, where, 'Ok, damn, we lost our upper hand'," said Ayton. "It can get a little emotional: 'Oh I thought you said this.. or you thought..' But Coach clarified it up in the huddle where we all were exchanging words."

The Suns' biggest fan, Charles Barkley, reacted after the game, saying "I told ya, Ernie, something's going on with my team. I don't feel good about it right now, I'm not gonna lie. There's something going on in the locker room, and I don't know if they can fix it."