Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton is making history in a way nobody imagined with an incredibly low free-throw volume this season.

The Portland Trail Blazers list Deandre Ayton as questionable with a left knee injury ahead of their matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Phoenix Suns have four bigs on the roster, including newly acquired 7-footer Nick Richards. Nurkic was moved to the bench earlier this month.

Starting Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton has been on the shelf since January 21 due to a left knee sprain. Now, he's been upgraded to merely questionable to return to the hardwood, per a new NBA injury report.

Veteran center Jusuf Nurkic was benched earlier this season, and in a perfect world, the Suns would love to use his $18.1 million salary to land a difference-maker. In the meantime, though, he is still a member of the Suns and is working through those difficult circumstances.

Ayton (knee) tallied 21 points (9-19 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 14 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block across 34 minutes in Tuesday's 125-112 win over the Bucks.

The Clippers only lead Phoenix by 2.5 games for the sixth seed in the West - and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. The Suns can officially clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker tonight as well after earning two victories against them on the road in the first two weeks of the season.

Suns center Jusuf Nurkic said he has no relationship with coach Mike Budenholzer prior to Saturday's game versus the Washington Wizards.

Miami forward Jimmy Butler appeared to nod at trade rumors of a move to Phoenix, turning out for the Heat’s 116-107 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in a pair of Suns-themed colorway shoes.

The Suns traded Josh Okogie and three future second-round picks Wednesday for Richards and a second-round selection. Wearing No. 2, Richards joined the Suns (20-20) Friday in Detroit and was ready to make his debut Saturday against the Pistons (21-20) at Little Caesars Arena.

Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) celebrates after scoring against the Orlando Magic with guard Scoot Henderson (00) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman) AP AP

The Orlando Magic will be happy not to see the Portland Trail Blazers again this season. After taking an early 10-0 lead, the Magic never looked good again, getting outscored by 39 while the Blazers romped to a 119-90 victory.