Deandre Ayton is a year removed from the Phoenix Suns trading him to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a three-team deal right before training camp of the 2023-24 season.

Ayton sat in the visitors locker room Saturday at Footprint Center before facing his former team far more relaxed answering questions about his five seasons in Phoenix than he was last year on his first trip to Phoenix after the blockbuster trade went down.

“Hold on, is this thing recording?” a laughing Ayton said.

Yes sir. Continue.

“I learned a lot,” Ayton said. “To be honest, I took the winning mentality over here. Just approaching the game the right way and being a professional and understanding the consistency really works.”

Ayton received boos during player introductions and nearly every time he touched the ball in Saturday’s game. The Suns won, 103-97, before a sellout crowd of 17,071.

When Ayton reflects upon his time with the Suns, he sees parallels to his first couple of years with the franchise to where Portland is now with him there.

“It’s like reseeing the Suns again on how we all started,” Ayton said.

Phoenix went from winning just 19 games his rookie year to reaching the finals two years later.

Ayton, 26, is in the early stages of his second season in Portland, a franchise rebuilding like the Suns were when he arrived. The Blazers (2-5) last made the postseason in the 2020-21 season.

“We have many steps to go, but just getting our feet wet in the right places, playing hard and competing against the best teams in the league,” Ayton said.

Ayton finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds Saturday in the same arena he experienced monumental highs including his game-winning “Valley-Oop” against the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2021 Western Conference finals and meltdown lows such as losing Game 7 to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022 conference semifinals by 33 points while playing for a team with the NBA’s best record.

Ayton managed just five points and four rebounds in 17 minutes – and had an intense verbal spat with then-Suns head coach Monty Williams.

The middle ground of those extremes saw Ayton average a double-double in each of his five seasons in Phoenix. There were inconsistencies in his play, but the top overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Arizona was instrumental in the Suns' resurgence after a decade-long postseason drought.

He’s now with the youthful, talented Blazers looking to find their way in the brutal West.

“Coach (Chauncey Billups) wants us to play fast, play physical,” Ayton continued. “Those the boxes I’m trying to check when I’m out there. Keep those days consistent because you’re contributing to wins and how we play.”

Ayton is averaging 13.7 points on 48.4% shooting and 11.3 rebounds this season.

“I’ve been pretty tough on him," Billups said. "I’ve been demanding a lot out of him. I want him to anchor us. Rebounding, we need it. We all of them, we struggle in that area. We find ways to get him the ball offensively. DA has done a good job for us thus far.”

The Suns dealt Ayton and Toumani Camara to Portland as part of a three-team deal last year that sent Damian Lillard from the Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Suns landed Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson from Portland and Grayson Allen from the Bucks in the deal.

Phoenix was very high on Camara, a second-round pick in 2023 out of Dayton. A defensive force already, Camara continues to improve offensively and is a key part of Portland’s youthful, talented core.

“Tou has made a pretty big step,” said Billups about the 6-7 Camara, who had seven points and 10 rebounds Saturday and is averaging 8.9 points and shooting 50% from 3 this season.

"His confidence is totally different. He spent the whole year trying to guard all the best players in the league and also try to find a way offensively. His shot has gotten better. The balance is so much better on his shot. I depend on him some, a little bit of playmaking.”

Ayton opened this season with five straight double-doubles after averaging 16.7 points on 57% shooting and 11.1 boards in his first year in Portland.

The Blazers are looking for Ayton to shoot 3s and be a defensive anchor. The talented big went 21-of-80 from distance in his five seasons in Phoenix.

Through seven games this season, Ayton is 3-of-8 on 3s.

“I’m trying to expand his range a little bit,” Billups said. “He’s shooting 3s this year. Shooting it pretty decent, but more importantly, his activity defensively. I’m trying to get him to pressure the ball more. He’s such a gifted athlete but sometimes he can leave some meat on the bone out there.”

On Saturday, Ayton's defense factored in Nurkic shooting just 1-of-6 from the field with the lone make a 3. Nurkic attempted to back Ayton down and power through him, but failed to finish inside.

“We’ve been trying to pressure more this year and it’s been his pressure a lot of times and nights that has really gotten us going,” Billups added.

Offensively, Ayton is still involved in dribble handoffs with the guards, setting high screens and diving to the rim or popping out for a jumper – now launching more 3s.

“Just getting ready for my next guard position,” a smiling Ayton said. “I think I’ll be moving up to guard sooner or later. So they’re trying to get me some reps right now (laughing)."

Ayton went 1-of-2 from deep Saturday.

“I’m loving it,” Ayton said. “You know me, I always wanted to be able to shoot the 3 and try to space the floor. The team trusts me and Coach trusts me to shoot the 3-ball, let it fly. I’m right where I need to be.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Suns big Deandre Ayton asked to do more in Year 2 with Blazers