Deandre Ayton discussion

[GatorAZ]

And in the games that truly mattered....... Amare played both ends. Not always great on defense, but his hustle and determination were evident.

Very early on he tried on defense. After microfracture and the extension it was a complete joke. I’d still take any pre-2012 version of Ayton because he attracted so much attention.

Amare never having knee problems is the greatest what-if for this franchise after losing the coin flip in 69’. The way he was arching in the playoffs led you to believe he could win MVP one day.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Very early on he tried on defense. After microfracture and the extension it was a complete joke. I’d still take any pre-2012 version of Ayton because he attracted so much attention.

Amare never having knee problems is the greatest what-if for this franchise after losing the coin flip in 69’. The way he was arching in the playoffs led you to believe he could win MVP one day.

yup. He was filthy good in his third year. He had handles, a good enough 18 footer and fearlessly attacked the rim. And he was a guy that you could see WANTED to get better. The leaps in play every year on offense from rookie to 2nd to 3rd year were all massive jumps.

such a damn shame what happened with his knees.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

yup. He was filthy good in his third year. He had handles, a good enough 18 footer and fearlessly attacked the rim. And he was a guy that you could see WANTED to get better. The leaps in play every year on offense from rookie to 2nd to 3rd year were all massive jumps.

such a damn shame what happened with his knees.

Not just wanted to get better, but wanted to murder his opponent. He wanted to put his defender on a poster every chance he could. I could only imagine what Ayton would look like with that kind of temperament. With his physical gifts, I would think he'd be one of the most feared players in the league.

 

[jagu]

Comparing Ayton to Amare is crazy talk. One had an edge and had enough intelligence to make big plays. Ayton doesn’t have any of that besides an athletic/long body. He doesn’t have the hands that Amare has to catch the ball in a pick and roll and still have an aggressive finish. He doesn’t have the post moves that Amare had. Can’t compare these two.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Yes, right now he's more Frustr'Ayton than DominAyton, but we knew coming out of college that he was a raw talent. He's still just 22 years old and learning on the job. We've seen glimpses of what he can be. His post play needs a lot more work, especially sealing off his defender to accept a pass. He needs to get more aggressive; look for contact as opposed to avoiding it. These are correctable things, he just needs to change his mentality. If Monty and Paul can't reach him, maybe no one can.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Very early on he tried on defense. After microfracture and the extension it was a complete joke. I’d still take any pre-2012 version of Ayton because he attracted so much attention.

Amare never having knee problems is the greatest what-if for this franchise after losing the coin flip in 69’. The way he was arching in the playoffs led you to believe he could win MVP one day.

I think he lost interest in defense before the micro-fracture surgery. IMO it happened due to a short stretch of games (one involved Seattle) where the opponents sucked the refs into calling bogus fouls on him. He went from being a nightly star on ESPN to sitting on the bench and I think he realized that his offense would only make him famous if he could avoid foul trouble. He'd still step up for the big play now and then (game saving blocks kind of thing) but he started giving his opponent a lot more space after that.

There were other factors such as the surgery and Dantoni's philosophy but I think avoiding bench time was the big draw.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yes, right now he's more Frustr'Ayton than DominAyton, but we knew coming out of college that he was a raw talent. He's still just 22 years old and learning on the job. We've seen glimpses of what he can be. His post play needs a lot more work, especially sealing off his defender to accept a pass. He needs to get more aggressive; look for contact as opposed to avoiding it. These are correctable things, he just needs to change his mentality. If Monty and Paul can't reach him, maybe no one can.

That’s just it. It’s year three and he’s had monty and Paul in his ear and we aren’t seeing any increases inclination by him to change his mentality. And it is just that, a change in mentality that’s necessary. Because the physical ability exists.

 

[Western Font]

This thread is depressing but at least I got to remember what a blast Amare was. I mourn the years robbed by injury and wish he’d won a ring, but what a pick; what a fun player.

 

[overseascardfan]

This topic has been discussed a lot recently not only on local radio and on here but on national radio as well. Consensus is that Ayton is not going to accept less than a max deal so PHX is paying in hopes he will grow into the contract.

I feel he at minimum needs to put up KAT numbers (I know KAT has his own deficiencies but at least he can justify his contract, numbers wise) to deserve max money. I think PHX should look into trade possibilities with Ayton as I don't think he wants to be elite (he's mentioned before making it to a second contract was his ultimate goal to base his success on). Maybe look to deal him for KAT, may have to throw in some protected picks but we could use KAT's production. I like Smith and maybe we could get another big in this year's draft. If we end up picking in 20's I like Charles Bassey as I see him as a Capela type and maybe take Luka Garza in Round 2. Bassey, Smith & Garza could give us solid production at the PF & C spots.

Again, if management thinks the aggression light bulb will go off for Ayton then keep him but we need to get more from PF & C position.

 

[Dr. Jones]

This thread is depressing but at least I got to remember what a blast Amare was. I mourn the years robbed by injury and wish he’d won a ring, but what a pick; what a fun player.

I tell my friends here in PA this all the time.

My family had season tickets back in the 80's....... I was in the building when Dan was called for the charge on Manute...... when Paxson hit the shot...... I basically bleed purple........ But nothing was more fun than Amare those first few years. At least.... Not to me.

Right time, right team, right player I suppose.

 

[Ronin]

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[jagu]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[Ronin]

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[Dr dumas]

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He’s delusional if he thinks he can guard players 1-5.

 

[Hoop Head]

He’s delusional if he thinks he can guard players 1-5.

Agree 100%. I've never seen him stop a guard on defense. He can play well against bigs and make them work but I don't think he's ever shut anyone down either, which is what a real DPOY candidate does.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Agree 100%. I've never seen him stop a guard on defense. He can play well against bigs and make them work but I don't think he's ever shut anyone down either, which is what a real DPOY candidate does.

I have. Many times. I've seen him effectively guard all 5 positions and I've seen all 5 positions take advantage of him. He is nowhere near a true DPOY candidate though and I hate that it's even something he's been approached on. He can be the DPOY if he gets a little better and far more consistent but right now, all told, this season to date, he's been just better than average IMO.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I have. Many times. I've seen him effectively guard all 5 positions and I've seen all 5 positions take advantage of him. He is nowhere near a true DPOY candidate though and I hate that it's even something he's been approached on. He can be the DPOY if he gets a little better and far more consistent but right now, all told, this season to date, he's been just better than average IMO.

agreed.

 

[Chaplin]

I have. Many times. I've seen him effectively guard all 5 positions and I've seen all 5 positions take advantage of him. He is nowhere near a true DPOY candidate though and I hate that it's even something he's been approached on. He can be the DPOY if he gets a little better and far more consistent but right now, all told, this season to date, he's been just better than average IMO.

The key here is "he's been approached on." He's not announcing to the world that he is DPOY on his own. He's a 22-year-old kid who has been doing very well on defense this season. Blame the person asking the question for his answer.

 

[SunsTzu]

I have. Many times. I've seen him effectively guard all 5 positions and I've seen all 5 positions take advantage of him. He is nowhere near a true DPOY candidate though and I hate that it's even something he's been approached on. He can be the DPOY if he gets a little better and far more consistent but right now, all told, this season to date, he's been just better than average IMO.

Yeah, it's actually a defensive tactic the team uses with some frequency off of p&r where Ayton switches on the ball handler. Compared to Gobert who basically just plays drop coverage if his teammate can't go under on the screen.

 

[Dr. Jones]

I have. Many times. I've seen him effectively guard all 5 positions and I've seen all 5 positions take advantage of him. He is nowhere near a true DPOY candidate though and I hate that it's even something he's been approached on. He can be the DPOY if he gets a little better and far more consistent but right now, all told, this season to date, he's been just better than average IMO.

agreed.

The Euro step that Jones did last night to get around Ayton at the rim was borderline abusive.

He has his warts..... but when he applies himself, he is at least a 10th to 15th level defensive player at his position. That's all he's getting from me.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Abominayton needs to be traded while he still has some value. Dude straight up sucks.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Curious what’s going on with Ayton’s rebounding. After averaging 14.1 rebounds per game for a 12 game stretch he’s been averaging 8.8 rebounds per game over the last 9 games during which 6 were single digit games. I know two of those he had fewer minutes, but it seems like a big difference.

 

[Mainstreet]

I suspect Ayton worries about getting early fouls in the game.

It almost seems when he is not strapped with fouls entering the fourth quarter, he feels free to play more aggressive.

I'm liking fourth quarter Ayton. As long as he keeps doing this I'm not going to be overly concerned with stats.

 

[Carolinacacti]

First half he plays it safe and people scream soft.................

 

[ProdigalSun]

This thread should be renamed Hatin’ on Ayton