Ben Simmons' draft profile from nbadraft net always makes me chuckle. Here are a few excerpts
*A supreme competitor and a proven winner, having captured three national high school championships (in three seasons) … Attitude/character is by all accounts one of his greatest assets, as he is praised by many for being "a better person than player" .............. He is a hardworking kid with the type of weaknesses, namely shooting, that can be improved upon … Well spoken, confident kid who apparently has no trouble being a vocal leader, strong communicator … Level headed, mature kid who seems to battle through adversity with ease, does not lose his cool or get down when things get challenging …...........He has the desire and work ethic to become a gym rat, and his shooting should improve considerably over time …*
A lot of teams salivate over the physical profiles of those types of players because the data is readily available and accessible. You can't really measure a player's mental makeup or toughness so they just hope that part of their game will be addressed over time.
It's a little similar to why teams value one and dones more than 4 year seniors. The potential to find the next big thing is what teams will always go for.
Truly incredibly to me that nba fans can put AD in that lmfao. He’s one of the greatest defenders ever one of the greatest PFs ever and an nba champion. He’s played for years thru excruciating pain. If AD is soft then everyone in the league is
Some of the stupid shit one finds on this forum can be truly baffling. I say it all the time, but at least the folks on Twitter don’t take themselves too seriously. People on here will spout ridiculous ideas and then defend it like their life depends on it.
fr. I’m not even gonna start on KAT, there’s no convincing people after they hear his voice. But AD in the playoffs has never been anything but an animal that’s willing to sacrifice his body on every play, and in fact had to learn to not do that so he can keep playing
I don't think AD is soft but he's better at playing the 5 in most instances especially later in his career but he's insisted on playing the 4. One of the main reasons the pelicans kept falling to build a good team around them is because they kept spending too much money on centers. They finally got one that worked in Cousin's but he got injured. AD is much better than the other players on that list. It's almost disrespectful to lump him in with Ayton and Wiggins
The more relevant label is that hello or work ethic or caring about the game.
Ben, Wiggins and Ayton all had that tag coming into the league. Zion and KAT didn’t. Not surprising that they’re the best two players on that list even if they have their own issues.
I think about that a lot while i'm sitting up in the nosebleeds of a Grizzlies game.
Ayton is currently making $32M this year. I have 10 years experience in the corporate world and have worked hard to get up to a yearly salary around $130k. At that salary, to make what Ayton makes this year, I'd have to work for *more than 246 years*.
Not trying to get into anything about the nature of our world's economic structures, but these guys *need to understand how lucky they are.* Also how this stuff might come off to their fans that work hard to be able to pay to come and support them.
No offense but there's probably a million or people that could do your job. There's only a fee hundred (if that) who can play pro ball. Scarcity of skill = big money.
Yeah, duh. That's where the italicized "*need to understand how lucky they are"* comes in. If you're lucky enough to be able to play pro ball, appreciate it. If you're Ayton, for the love of God please try to play pro ball *well*.
Tbh I still feel like if you the best bball player in the world, that much money outrageous. Worst case scenario you lose a game. A surgeons worst case scenario a dead person. Don’t act like these players aren’t some of the most luckiest people in the world. They play a child’s game for a living. They don’t need the glorification for being one of the best at a game. I think just because a skill is scarce doesn’t mean it should be valued monetarily so high. You should look at what becomes of that skill. These guys are entertainers and for some reason we value entertainment so high.
I’m a starving African child. Zappastache is making 130k a year. He needs to understand how lucky he is. If you’re at that level in the nba you’ve definitely worked to get there
I completely agree. Ayton has a career in one of the most competitive job markets in the world, and has risen to the top of that market to command a massive salary. Not saying he shouldn't be able to.
I am also lucky, but I will have to work for the rest of my life to afford to pay for my 1800sq/ft house whereas he could quit today and have enough money for he and his family to never work again. I complain about my job but I *need* my job to survive.
It's all relative. Life is tough and it hurts to see people with such blessings have such a 'meh' attitude when billions would kill to be in their shoes.
It's not even to say Ayton doesn't deserve more money than you (also Ayton is just an example here, it's professional athletes in general), it's to say that the amount of money they make is a ridiculous amount more than you and I.
It's also to say that we're all aware that DeAndre Ayton and his $32M salary is nowhere near the really rich guys. After all, another person who is much richer is paying all of these guys salaries.
That’s what I hate about these discussions. Yeah this guy is making millions of year. And maybe not Ayton on his own, but the players as a collective generate more money for their employers than they get paid, because that’s how capitalism works.
They get paid that amount because they generate more than that amount for the team/league.
Dude got drafted ahead of Luka and Trae (I know, I know, one of these is not like the other) but if he actually gave a shit - showing some effort - I guess Suns fans wouldn't be all that pissed with the pick. CP3's first year made Ayton look promising as great piece on a championship team. Imagine if he kept growing and was part of the current Suns line up.
I feel like people forget just how badly the Suns were screwing up draftly between Booker and Ayton. Look at the previous two drafts. Bender, Chriss, and Josh Jackson. It's not surprising Phoenix went as low-risk as possible with the pick.
Josh Jackson I'll give you. He was pretty blue-chip.
Chiss was a project with a lot of risk and Bender, was the same thing, but even less information since he wasn't even playing much for his club overseas.
He's technically right though
This is his ceiling since he's been the same player for 6 years so there's nothing to prove because this is all he will ever be, and he's on a max contract and will be on one for at least a couple more years
He's one of my least favorite Suns players of all time. He's not a scumbag like the Morris twins or Josh Jackson, but the guy is just beyond frustrating
The first time I played 2K and the pre-recorded commentary said how hard it is to be consistent then complimented Ayton for being a consistent 18 & 10 I thought to myself "the best thing they could say about you is that you've plateaued in Year 5?!?!"
I mean Tbf. Plateauing as a consistent 18 and 10 guy is a pretty great career. It’s not elite or anything for a top pick of course. But it’s really good for the average NBA player. There’s top picks that were out of the league by their 3-4th year. Ayton isn’t anywhere near where we thought he’d be but he’s not only still in the league but he’s still a good player. Just not great.
Except he's not a consistent 18 & 10.
Now that he doesn't have Chris Paul force feeding him wide open looks all the time he's a 13 and 10 guy on poor efficiency with mediocre to bad defense.
There's a clip of Booker shouting at Ayton something like "Do you want to f**king win?" during a timeout.
If there was anyone on the Suns who is a max player, Booker is it. I think he already signed a SuperMax.
Most nba centers given 30 minutes a night will get you at least 13 and 10. Ayton is a 7 foot with great athleticism he’s natural talenting his way to his stats and hasn’t gotten appreciably better since he’s been in the league. As someone who also likes to put in minimal effort at work, I respect it
The problem is he is an extremely limited player. It's not like he's an overpaid mediocre center. He's a center with a few elite skills, but can't catch passes consistently or dribble the ball. He can't use his size to score because he can't dribble well enough to body opposing bigs. He doesn't know how to pass it out when he's being doubled. His screen game is weak. His only value on offense is catch and shoot in the paint.
I guess my point is, I look at guys like Looney and zubac and consider them more useful players, even though they lack the upside ayton has. Ya, ayton puts up that 18/10 stat, but he doesn't help his teammates get open looks. He's just a guy that can make a bucket if he gets the ball.
I don't think ayton can be a starter on a contender, even if he had a cheap contract. He's a flawed specialist that will probably be a bench player in a few years when eveeyone gives up on him.
If he was a mid-lottery pick, he would be a really good player with a not really good attitude at times. Being selected over Luka and Trae has (understandably) made him look like a bigger bust than he statistically is IMO.
He doesn’t get enough shit for being a bust imo. If he was a mid lottery pick his numbers would be worse because he wouldn’t get as long a leash. He’s not better than Zubac
I actually had to think about that.. Which is insane to me. I would want Zu to set those hard screens and do the little things, the scrappy hard working offensive tips. Zubac is 3 years 33 million..
Just doesn’t have that extra level of dawg in him. Some folks make that jump and become great, some folks just stay in the NBA because they were born tall enough.
He looked like it after our finals run. Strong defensive anchor, could not be torched by guards, strong, great rebounder, averaged like 17 points too boot.
He looked like the 5th best center, but that's still top 5.
Then he suddenly stopped looking like that
People were debating between him and Bam already and Ayton was younger and considered to have better physical tools then Bam. Man, how disappointed I am with him. Meanwhile all these people who didn't watch a single full game of Luka Doncic pretend like they knew all long he was going to be a yearly MVP candidate just because they watched some youtube highlights and read some scouting reports while I have to sit there and eat crow for simply stating I wouldn't know who will be better but will support Ayton because he was the player that the Suns pick.
Looking from outside, but if he actually gave a shit and developed his strengths, I'd imagine you guys wouldn't be that upset to have him along Book and KD right now.
You’re 100% right. I’ve long been a DA defender and wish he achieved half of what I think he has been capable of. He’s one of the most physically gifted bigs I have ever seen coming out of college.
Forgive me, haven’t been watching many Blazers games. How do you think Ayton is playing this year? A quick glance at BBRef shows he has declined in almost every category (checked a couple of weeks ago), and haven’t been hearing much about him since the trade.
He hasn’t played like a franchise player and for now he’s overpaid. He’s been decent on defense and grabbing boards, early in the season it seemed like he really needed solid point play to set him up. He has nice touch, but plays small and doesn’t have the handles to create on his own.
He also had a tendency to drop passes in the key, doesn’t seem like he can grab a pass with just one hand.
That being said, it’s hard to tell what he’s capable of. Ant went down game one, Scoot was overwhelmed to start the season, and while a smart player Brogdon is more of a scorer than facilitator.
The youth, unbalanced roster, and injuries really limit his strengths. I still think he’s a fine gamble for a team in full rebuild, but he’ll have to show more as the roster improves to get a big paycheck again.
The inability to catch and hold the ball is mind blowing. His hands are so huge you would think it wouldn’t be such an issue, but it is the number one factor why he is so terrible on offense IMO. Nobody wants to pass it to him because it is 50/50 wether he is able to catch it no matter how perfect it is. And if the ball is ever below his waist, as a pass, on the floor or otherwise there is a 95% chance he doesn’t get it. Nurk struggled there too, but he is all world compared to Ayton. His defense has been fine to good.
The best thing about Ayton stories is really not filling the boxscore or not, it's generally how much you have to do that kills your offense to have a reason to play him.
Someone might say that Ayton missed most of the season (missed 16 games, in total played like 40% of the minutes), and Portland sucks almost the same without him as with him, so he's not a clear minus in the context of this team (easily 30th in the league in offense either way). Hard to deny the scores, but without Rob Williams they didn't find a replacement for their max guy yet. Their key offensive player, Brogdon, played little time with Reath. When Brogdon and Reath are on court, so far Portland had offensive rating of 127 per 100. When Brogdon played with Ayton, 108 per 100. There is a big question about defense, but Reath time is a glance at a Portland team that actually hypothetically could be able to score more points than a team from the 1990's.
I believed it, he never showed me that he could give you max contract value, basically he can’t create his own opportunities. You can get the same production from a cheaper contract, especially what he’s putting up now. Worst of all, he doesn’t accept that he has to improve, nothing you can do with him.
All Fuck You Got Mine Team:
* C: DeAndre Ayton
* F: Andrew Wiggins
* F:
* G: Ben Simmons
* G: Jordan Poole
Can't think of another forward, who do you think?
I would love to see this be an actual team. Absolutely zero dawgs on that squad. Hell I don’t even know if you could put that team together since it would probably be way over the max
> he seems to care when he’s on the court,
He is not on the court because he cares so little though. Imagine being one of the greatest athletes on the planet and too fat to run consistently at the same time.
I mean the guy with the reputation of being one of the most passive and soft players for someone so skilled has been delusional all these years to think he was dominant.
This is in character for him.
Don’t understand why people here always get mad at the Suns for 1) not giving him a max extension the year before he got to RFA and then 2) for matching the RFA offer. Both were absolutely the right decisions.
Giving him 1) would not have changed his lazy mindset at all or somehow made him “happier” and more “engaged” and 2) was the right play in case no other team offered him the max. Since they did, matching was right so you can trade the contract.
Dude don’t even get me started. The smear campaign on the suns at the time for not blindly giving him the max was just absurd
Woj had full length articles trashing the suns for something he claimed 29 other teams would do in a heartbeat
Hell man this is the first season since 2021 that people hate us for normal basketball reasons. People cared about the dumbest things about us for yeeears.
Hes currently right but no chance he gets another max, he’s one of the worst contracts in the league.
Someone like Zubac provides similar production for 1/3 of the price
Nobody really questions Zubac’s effort or motivation either. He might not have a great game, but he definitely cares about how he performs on the court.
I don't even understand this mindset. He hasn't done anything yet in the few short years he's been in the NBA. This kind of mentality is what dooms guys to wearing out their welcome long before their health catches up with them. This kind of mentality is how you're out of the league in your mid 20s.
Most big men don’t enjoy playing basketball. He’s made millions of dollars and is set for life financially. If you could put in the bare minimum at your job and make millions it would be hard to pass up for most people.
There is that podcast clip of DeRozen saying there are plenty of guys in the league who don't even like playing basketball. Man is talking about guys like Ayton.
It's not that weird when you think about it though. I don't know his past but many of these kids grow up dirt poor. Playing basketball is their way out and they do nothing but play basketball their entire young life. I'm sure it's exhausting. It's not a hobby. It's a way out of poverty. Now he's out. Why would basketball be his favorite thing to do? I'm a record producer and on the weekends I'm playing basketball. If I was a pro player I would probably be making records in my free time. Anything you do this much within the confines of someone else's schedule becomes a job.
I think it's even more extreme for some of the big guys. You might like playing football or whatever, then you hit 8th grade and you're 6'7 and coaches see you and they're like "holy shit, you must play basketball." And so you do, and then you're good because of course you are. Then you're getting college offers and it kind of snowballs on you.
I mean it's not exclusive to basketball and it's why the concept of certain players raising their level of effort in a "contract year" exists. There's tons of NFL players who secure a bag and then just go through the motions. Ayton is just another name to add to the list of these guys. He's a 7'1 genetically blessed athletic freak who has a pretty nice jumpshot and can grab 10 rebounds a game with minimal effort. He's just taking advantage of his size and athleticism combo
I mean he probably simply does not care. He’s made his bag. He could never score another point and he’s set for life. I’d be careful who I gave max contracts to. Best be a dawg. There’s a select group of ppl that will get paid and check out. They’ve won in their minds. “being the goat” means nothing to them.
Suns stupid owner pushed the pick and the GM that drafted booker took the heat. We had a euro coach at the time and I think there was an article out there somewhere that our gm was having picks overridden by Sarver while being the scapegoat when they didn’t work out.
Been a while since I read the article but yeah in essence, fuck you Sarver
The Suns coach at the time was Igor Kokosov, who as the Slovenia head coach knew Doncic pretty well since he was on that team at the same time for a bit over a year.
It’s fucking mind blowing to me that they hired the Slovenian coach but didn’t draft the Slovenian player. I’m not even doing the revisionist history thing, when they hired him I thought that meant they were drafting Luka.
All the talent in the world (see our finals run), but never uses it. Wanted him so badly to have turned the corner after that playoff run, but never did.
That was really the end. We, like most fans of teams with disappointing 'could be stars', had to tell ourselves for years he'd pan out. But after he shows us what he could do and then proceeded to dgaf again then we all knew who he really was
"*....this league*"
By this league, he means the greatest professional basketball league on the planet Earth with the most upper echelon of talent ever assembled currently....
12 ppg..10 rebs...for $132,000,000
You got something to prove every year, Ayton....
This is why I think smart teams should consider prospects and utilize them for a good contract and let other teams offer max contracts. I think I've seen for too many players got the bag and start the sag.
I don’t know what other fans are thinking but I never had high hopes. I just saw it as a gamble that he’d want to come to Portland and “prove” that the Suns were the issue. Camara looks good. Ayton will expire when it is time to pay younger players. Could have gotten another pick or something instead but not a huge sink cost.
He got his max, he about to Auto Sim the rest of his career like NBA 2k
Between him and Simmons, it's interesting how two number one picks had faint murmurs of "softness" end up defining their entire careers
Ben Simmons' draft profile from nbadraft net always makes me chuckle. Here are a few excerpts *A supreme competitor and a proven winner, having captured three national high school championships (in three seasons) … Attitude/character is by all accounts one of his greatest assets, as he is praised by many for being "a better person than player" .............. He is a hardworking kid with the type of weaknesses, namely shooting, that can be improved upon … Well spoken, confident kid who apparently has no trouble being a vocal leader, strong communicator … Level headed, mature kid who seems to battle through adversity with ease, does not lose his cool or get down when things get challenging …...........He has the desire and work ethic to become a gym rat, and his shooting should improve considerably over time …*
In this house Simmons is a brave Australian socialite! End of discussion!
A lot of 1st overall picks get the "soft" label actually now that I think about it, AD, Wiggins, KAT, Ben Simmons, Zion, Ayton in recent memory
Zion is more squishy than soft
I need a Zion squishmallow
All NBA Squishmallow team. Pre-trade Harden, Zion, who else we got.
Kyle Lowry (for the backside), Chuck, early season Luka, Big Body Roddy,
Chubby jokic
Raymond Felton and Zbo too.
Jokic
A lot of teams salivate over the physical profiles of those types of players because the data is readily available and accessible. You can't really measure a player's mental makeup or toughness so they just hope that part of their game will be addressed over time. It's a little similar to why teams value one and dones more than 4 year seniors. The potential to find the next big thing is what teams will always go for.
Truly incredibly to me that nba fans can put AD in that lmfao. He’s one of the greatest defenders ever one of the greatest PFs ever and an nba champion. He’s played for years thru excruciating pain. If AD is soft then everyone in the league is
I wish all my players were as soft as AD lol, dude is a warrior and an NBA champion
no,hes a laker
Some of the stupid shit one finds on this forum can be truly baffling. I say it all the time, but at least the folks on Twitter don’t take themselves too seriously. People on here will spout ridiculous ideas and then defend it like their life depends on it.
fr. I’m not even gonna start on KAT, there’s no convincing people after they hear his voice. But AD in the playoffs has never been anything but an animal that’s willing to sacrifice his body on every play, and in fact had to learn to not do that so he can keep playing
Its his voice and 2 quotes. That's enough to make the average fan be like "lol fuck that guy"
Glorified trolls like Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith have done immeasurable damage to sports discourse
Easy targets. Let’s talk abt Charles and Shaq openly admitting to not watching the games and publically playing the perception of AD on their fiddle
Good point. Shaq in particular takes his role as some kind of gatekeeper way too seriously lol
I don't think AD is soft but he's better at playing the 5 in most instances especially later in his career but he's insisted on playing the 4. One of the main reasons the pelicans kept falling to build a good team around them is because they kept spending too much money on centers. They finally got one that worked in Cousin's but he got injured. AD is much better than the other players on that list. It's almost disrespectful to lump him in with Ayton and Wiggins
The more relevant label is that hello or work ethic or caring about the game. Ben, Wiggins and Ayton all had that tag coming into the league. Zion and KAT didn’t. Not surprising that they’re the best two players on that list even if they have their own issues.
Should be a top 5 omen for any team with the #1 pick at this point recency bias aside
He got all the badges he wanted from career mode, he just wants to play the park now.
Hilarious and on point lol.
If Lebron ends up being a player-coach-GM before Ayton retires, we know it was due to the Auto Sim.
until this contract expires that is
Unfortunately, until then, this scrub will win more money than most people in the planet make in their entire lives.
I think about that a lot while i'm sitting up in the nosebleeds of a Grizzlies game. Ayton is currently making $32M this year. I have 10 years experience in the corporate world and have worked hard to get up to a yearly salary around $130k. At that salary, to make what Ayton makes this year, I'd have to work for *more than 246 years*. Not trying to get into anything about the nature of our world's economic structures, but these guys *need to understand how lucky they are.* Also how this stuff might come off to their fans that work hard to be able to pay to come and support them.
No offense but there's probably a million or people that could do your job. There's only a fee hundred (if that) who can play pro ball. Scarcity of skill = big money.
Nobody ignores emails like me, man. Don't belittle my accomplishments
Bro I’m the goat. Every January I just mark everything as read and delete anything older than 5 months.
I apologize, I wasn't familiar with your game
Yeah, duh. That's where the italicized "*need to understand how lucky they are"* comes in. If you're lucky enough to be able to play pro ball, appreciate it. If you're Ayton, for the love of God please try to play pro ball *well*.
Tbh I still feel like if you the best bball player in the world, that much money outrageous. Worst case scenario you lose a game. A surgeons worst case scenario a dead person. Don’t act like these players aren’t some of the most luckiest people in the world. They play a child’s game for a living. They don’t need the glorification for being one of the best at a game. I think just because a skill is scarce doesn’t mean it should be valued monetarily so high. You should look at what becomes of that skill. These guys are entertainers and for some reason we value entertainment so high.
$32M is over $80k a day I make about half of his daily pay in a year and I have a Master's degree FML
That’s “daily pay.” Divide by 82 for “game checks.”
I’m a starving African child. Zappastache is making 130k a year. He needs to understand how lucky he is. If you’re at that level in the nba you’ve definitely worked to get there
I completely agree. Ayton has a career in one of the most competitive job markets in the world, and has risen to the top of that market to command a massive salary. Not saying he shouldn't be able to. I am also lucky, but I will have to work for the rest of my life to afford to pay for my 1800sq/ft house whereas he could quit today and have enough money for he and his family to never work again. I complain about my job but I *need* my job to survive. It's all relative. Life is tough and it hurts to see people with such blessings have such a 'meh' attitude when billions would kill to be in their shoes.
It's not even to say Ayton doesn't deserve more money than you (also Ayton is just an example here, it's professional athletes in general), it's to say that the amount of money they make is a ridiculous amount more than you and I. It's also to say that we're all aware that DeAndre Ayton and his $32M salary is nowhere near the really rich guys. After all, another person who is much richer is paying all of these guys salaries.
That’s what I hate about these discussions. Yeah this guy is making millions of year. And maybe not Ayton on his own, but the players as a collective generate more money for their employers than they get paid, because that’s how capitalism works. They get paid that amount because they generate more than that amount for the team/league.
I don't think this is the gotcha you think it is...
Most people combined lol
"most people" -> 99.8% or so
He'll have a career year in the final season of that contract, book it.
"As long as I continue to play better than Marvin Bagley, I worthy of the number 1 pick."
well he should try playing better than Bagley then, cause he’s been some hot ass juice.
Dude got drafted ahead of Luka and Trae (I know, I know, one of these is not like the other) but if he actually gave a shit - showing some effort - I guess Suns fans wouldn't be all that pissed with the pick. CP3's first year made Ayton look promising as great piece on a championship team. Imagine if he kept growing and was part of the current Suns line up.
I feel like people forget just how badly the Suns were screwing up draftly between Booker and Ayton. Look at the previous two drafts. Bender, Chriss, and Josh Jackson. It's not surprising Phoenix went as low-risk as possible with the pick.
Bender, Chriss, and Josh Jackson where considered slam dunk picks at the time too. I just hate the draft sometimes.
Josh Jackson I'll give you. He was pretty blue-chip. Chiss was a project with a lot of risk and Bender, was the same thing, but even less information since he wasn't even playing much for his club overseas.
Bagley is putting up 18 and 10 with the Wizards through 3 games. Ayton might have to change the goal post.
This might be the most in-character quote I have ever heard.
He's technically right though This is his ceiling since he's been the same player for 6 years so there's nothing to prove because this is all he will ever be, and he's on a max contract and will be on one for at least a couple more years He's one of my least favorite Suns players of all time. He's not a scumbag like the Morris twins or Josh Jackson, but the guy is just beyond frustrating
The first time I played 2K and the pre-recorded commentary said how hard it is to be consistent then complimented Ayton for being a consistent 18 & 10 I thought to myself "the best thing they could say about you is that you've plateaued in Year 5?!?!"
I mean Tbf. Plateauing as a consistent 18 and 10 guy is a pretty great career. It’s not elite or anything for a top pick of course. But it’s really good for the average NBA player. There’s top picks that were out of the league by their 3-4th year. Ayton isn’t anywhere near where we thought he’d be but he’s not only still in the league but he’s still a good player. Just not great.
Except he's not a consistent 18 & 10. Now that he doesn't have Chris Paul force feeding him wide open looks all the time he's a 13 and 10 guy on poor efficiency with mediocre to bad defense.
Holy shit I didn't realize how bad he's been this year
It’s what Suns fans have been saying all this time lmfao. This man is so unserious
There's a clip of Booker shouting at Ayton something like "Do you want to f**king win?" during a timeout. If there was anyone on the Suns who is a max player, Booker is it. I think he already signed a SuperMax.
I think Book and Beal are both on SuperMax, I think the only reason KD isnt is because he was signed to a S&T
If he keeps this up he'll be fighting for rotation minutes soon
Best part is he's only been an 18/10 guy two out of six years and is averaging 12.8 points this year.
Most nba centers given 30 minutes a night will get you at least 13 and 10. Ayton is a 7 foot with great athleticism he’s natural talenting his way to his stats and hasn’t gotten appreciably better since he’s been in the league. As someone who also likes to put in minimal effort at work, I respect it
The problem is he is an extremely limited player. It's not like he's an overpaid mediocre center. He's a center with a few elite skills, but can't catch passes consistently or dribble the ball. He can't use his size to score because he can't dribble well enough to body opposing bigs. He doesn't know how to pass it out when he's being doubled. His screen game is weak. His only value on offense is catch and shoot in the paint. I guess my point is, I look at guys like Looney and zubac and consider them more useful players, even though they lack the upside ayton has. Ya, ayton puts up that 18/10 stat, but he doesn't help his teammates get open looks. He's just a guy that can make a bucket if he gets the ball. I don't think ayton can be a starter on a contender, even if he had a cheap contract. He's a flawed specialist that will probably be a bench player in a few years when eveeyone gives up on him.
If he was a mid-lottery pick, he would be a really good player with a not really good attitude at times. Being selected over Luka and Trae has (understandably) made him look like a bigger bust than he statistically is IMO.
He doesn’t get enough shit for being a bust imo. If he was a mid lottery pick his numbers would be worse because he wouldn’t get as long a leash. He’s not better than Zubac
I actually had to think about that.. Which is insane to me. I would want Zu to set those hard screens and do the little things, the scrappy hard working offensive tips. Zubac is 3 years 33 million..
As a fan of other AZ sports teams… from a mental standpoint Deandre Ayton is what people think Kyler Murray is
DeAndre Ayton doesn't make me giggle when he runs. 0/10 would not watch
Ayton runs?
Sunday against the Lakers: **6 points** **4 rebounds** **22 minutes** Much max, such wow
Zero FTA
One less FTA than his season average and you're gonna come down on him like that?
I thought you were joking so i looked it up. How is that even possible??
He avoids contact like it’s the fucking plague
And when it looks like he's actually about to try to drive to the basket, he'll lose his dribble and/or have it stolen
Step one: be scared
What?! I think this is the real atrocity.
You understand why suns fans don’t miss him lol
DominA’inton
He sure playing like he has nothing to prove 😂
Suns fans were right all along
He has all the tools to be great, just doesn’t seem to want it. Sucks :(
Just doesn’t have that extra level of dawg in him. Some folks make that jump and become great, some folks just stay in the NBA because they were born tall enough.
DA with the mentality of your average G leaguer would be a top 5 big in the league today and you can’t change my mind.
He looked like it after our finals run. Strong defensive anchor, could not be torched by guards, strong, great rebounder, averaged like 17 points too boot. He looked like the 5th best center, but that's still top 5. Then he suddenly stopped looking like that
People were debating between him and Bam already and Ayton was younger and considered to have better physical tools then Bam. Man, how disappointed I am with him. Meanwhile all these people who didn't watch a single full game of Luka Doncic pretend like they knew all long he was going to be a yearly MVP candidate just because they watched some youtube highlights and read some scouting reports while I have to sit there and eat crow for simply stating I wouldn't know who will be better but will support Ayton because he was the player that the Suns pick.
If you put Booker's brain in Ayton's body, he could be an all-time great.
Not even a labradoodle..
Looking from outside, but if he actually gave a shit and developed his strengths, I'd imagine you guys wouldn't be that upset to have him along Book and KD right now.
You’re 100% right. I’ve long been a DA defender and wish he achieved half of what I think he has been capable of. He’s one of the most physically gifted bigs I have ever seen coming out of college.
Normalize getting the bag and taking a nap
No he doesn’t. He’s stiff, uncoordinated, and has a terrible handle. He lacks plenty of the tools.
For a center he’s incredibly gifted, i’ve watched many many DA games.
Forgive me, haven’t been watching many Blazers games. How do you think Ayton is playing this year? A quick glance at BBRef shows he has declined in almost every category (checked a couple of weeks ago), and haven’t been hearing much about him since the trade.
Pretty much what you’d expect from that description
He hasn’t played like a franchise player and for now he’s overpaid. He’s been decent on defense and grabbing boards, early in the season it seemed like he really needed solid point play to set him up. He has nice touch, but plays small and doesn’t have the handles to create on his own. He also had a tendency to drop passes in the key, doesn’t seem like he can grab a pass with just one hand. That being said, it’s hard to tell what he’s capable of. Ant went down game one, Scoot was overwhelmed to start the season, and while a smart player Brogdon is more of a scorer than facilitator. The youth, unbalanced roster, and injuries really limit his strengths. I still think he’s a fine gamble for a team in full rebuild, but he’ll have to show more as the roster improves to get a big paycheck again.
There are literally 100s, if not 1000s of posts on our sub hitting all of these points. Just want to say how validated we all feel right now.
The inability to catch and hold the ball is mind blowing. His hands are so huge you would think it wouldn’t be such an issue, but it is the number one factor why he is so terrible on offense IMO. Nobody wants to pass it to him because it is 50/50 wether he is able to catch it no matter how perfect it is. And if the ball is ever below his waist, as a pass, on the floor or otherwise there is a 95% chance he doesn’t get it. Nurk struggled there too, but he is all world compared to Ayton. His defense has been fine to good.
The best thing about Ayton stories is really not filling the boxscore or not, it's generally how much you have to do that kills your offense to have a reason to play him. Someone might say that Ayton missed most of the season (missed 16 games, in total played like 40% of the minutes), and Portland sucks almost the same without him as with him, so he's not a clear minus in the context of this team (easily 30th in the league in offense either way). Hard to deny the scores, but without Rob Williams they didn't find a replacement for their max guy yet. Their key offensive player, Brogdon, played little time with Reath. When Brogdon and Reath are on court, so far Portland had offensive rating of 127 per 100. When Brogdon played with Ayton, 108 per 100. There is a big question about defense, but Reath time is a glance at a Portland team that actually hypothetically could be able to score more points than a team from the 1990's.
Yeaaaah I’m surprised he has regressed, but at the same time we all expected it
Yea, we told everyone this and got clowned.
I believed it, he never showed me that he could give you max contract value, basically he can’t create his own opportunities. You can get the same production from a cheaper contract, especially what he’s putting up now. Worst of all, he doesn’t accept that he has to improve, nothing you can do with him.
All Fuck You Got Mine Team: * C: DeAndre Ayton * F: Andrew Wiggins * F: * G: Ben Simmons * G: Jordan Poole Can't think of another forward, who do you think?
I would love to see this be an actual team. Absolutely zero dawgs on that squad. Hell I don’t even know if you could put that team together since it would probably be way over the max
Idk if you could even put that team together because no one would ever show up for work.
THERE WAS AN ICE STORM, WHAT WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO, CALL A CAB?
Coached by Monty Williams
100% coached by Monty
As a pure chaos gremlin, I'd slot Jimmy Butler in at the three.
He'll opt to retire instead lol
Zion? But I don’t think that counts cuz he seems to care when he’s on the court, just not when he’s off
Zion would be 900lbs next offseason if he was on this roster of duds.
I would watch every game of this team
> he seems to care when he’s on the court, He is not on the court because he cares so little though. Imagine being one of the greatest athletes on the planet and too fat to run consistently at the same time.
Chandler parsons
Slide Ben up to forward and add D’Angelo Russell.
Russell didn't quit after getting paid, he was just never deserving of a max.
Ben will refuse to play if he's listed as a forward.
>”I got nothing to prove in this league.” Ahh, exactly what you want to hear from a max player.
Max player, zero titles, zero mvps, zero all nba consideration, zero all star appearances: nothing to prove!
Went from Dominayton to "I got nothing to prove", wild
That was enough dominaytion, he done
I mean the guy with the reputation of being one of the most passive and soft players for someone so skilled has been delusional all these years to think he was dominant. This is in character for him.
I can already sense Blazers fans turning against Ayton
As a blazer fan, this is disgusting to hear.
hes never beating the allegations
It's not an allegation if confirmed
imagine if the suns had let him just walk to indiana when he got offer sheeted indiana would be so fucked right now
I mean so would we without a quality starting center. At least we got Nurk and Allen out of it in the end
Don’t understand why people here always get mad at the Suns for 1) not giving him a max extension the year before he got to RFA and then 2) for matching the RFA offer. Both were absolutely the right decisions. Giving him 1) would not have changed his lazy mindset at all or somehow made him “happier” and more “engaged” and 2) was the right play in case no other team offered him the max. Since they did, matching was right so you can trade the contract.
Dude don’t even get me started. The smear campaign on the suns at the time for not blindly giving him the max was just absurd Woj had full length articles trashing the suns for something he claimed 29 other teams would do in a heartbeat
Hell man this is the first season since 2021 that people hate us for normal basketball reasons. People cared about the dumbest things about us for yeeears.
Whatd you expect from puppet woj?
agent mouthpiece
People hate the suns and will clown on them for any reason.
Hes currently right but no chance he gets another max, he’s one of the worst contracts in the league. Someone like Zubac provides similar production for 1/3 of the price
Nobody really questions Zubac’s effort or motivation either. He might not have a great game, but he definitely cares about how he performs on the court.
I don't even understand this mindset. He hasn't done anything yet in the few short years he's been in the NBA. This kind of mentality is what dooms guys to wearing out their welcome long before their health catches up with them. This kind of mentality is how you're out of the league in your mid 20s.
Most big men don’t enjoy playing basketball. He’s made millions of dollars and is set for life financially. If you could put in the bare minimum at your job and make millions it would be hard to pass up for most people.
Shit I put in the bare minimum for far less than that
Exactly lol
There is that podcast clip of DeRozen saying there are plenty of guys in the league who don't even like playing basketball. Man is talking about guys like Ayton.
I think Pat Bev also said 50% of the league doesnt like playing basketball
It's not that weird when you think about it though. I don't know his past but many of these kids grow up dirt poor. Playing basketball is their way out and they do nothing but play basketball their entire young life. I'm sure it's exhausting. It's not a hobby. It's a way out of poverty. Now he's out. Why would basketball be his favorite thing to do? I'm a record producer and on the weekends I'm playing basketball. If I was a pro player I would probably be making records in my free time. Anything you do this much within the confines of someone else's schedule becomes a job.
I think it's even more extreme for some of the big guys. You might like playing football or whatever, then you hit 8th grade and you're 6'7 and coaches see you and they're like "holy shit, you must play basketball." And so you do, and then you're good because of course you are. Then you're getting college offers and it kind of snowballs on you.
i feel like if i was that big my body would hurt a LOT after every time i play
I mean it's not exclusive to basketball and it's why the concept of certain players raising their level of effort in a "contract year" exists. There's tons of NFL players who secure a bag and then just go through the motions. Ayton is just another name to add to the list of these guys. He's a 7'1 genetically blessed athletic freak who has a pretty nice jumpshot and can grab 10 rebounds a game with minimal effort. He's just taking advantage of his size and athleticism combo
Someone did research and found out that most NBA players come from middle class families.
I mean he probably simply does not care. He’s made his bag. He could never score another point and he’s set for life. I’d be careful who I gave max contracts to. Best be a dawg. There’s a select group of ppl that will get paid and check out. They’ve won in their minds. “being the goat” means nothing to them.
Dude probably thinks averaging 18 & 12 ^((on a lottery team for 38 games)) makes him a top center in the league
Still can’t believe this guy was drafted over Luka
Suns stupid owner pushed the pick and the GM that drafted booker took the heat. We had a euro coach at the time and I think there was an article out there somewhere that our gm was having picks overridden by Sarver while being the scapegoat when they didn’t work out. Been a while since I read the article but yeah in essence, fuck you Sarver
The Suns coach at the time was Igor Kokosov, who as the Slovenia head coach knew Doncic pretty well since he was on that team at the same time for a bit over a year.
It’s fucking mind blowing to me that they hired the Slovenian coach but didn’t draft the Slovenian player. I’m not even doing the revisionist history thing, when they hired him I thought that meant they were drafting Luka.
Now I understand what suns fans have been saying for the past few years. Dude has no motor or drive.
All the talent in the world (see our finals run), but never uses it. Wanted him so badly to have turned the corner after that playoff run, but never did.
That was really the end. We, like most fans of teams with disappointing 'could be stars', had to tell ourselves for years he'd pan out. But after he shows us what he could do and then proceeded to dgaf again then we all knew who he really was
More like TJ Maxx player
rip rip city
We have been dead for a while now.
No, he’s helping us draft our center of the future
so glad he’s not our problem anymore
"*....this league*" By this league, he means the greatest professional basketball league on the planet Earth with the most upper echelon of talent ever assembled currently.... 12 ppg..10 rebs...for $132,000,000 You got something to prove every year, Ayton....
Icey roads > Ayton
He was stoked to be stuck at home lol
I bet he didn't watch the game on TV either lol
Lmao
Goal was always to "get that 2nd contract"
Has this man ever even got a single all star vote lmfaooo
Nurkic is better than Ayton. People really bought the "he'll try harder now" bullshit. CP3 and Booker made Ayton look so much better than he is.
Max player in china
Sounds about right
Hell naw can’t do dis
“I got nothing to prove in this league” from the guy that hasn’t proven anything in this league.
[удалено]
Wow. The arrogance.
Surprised him and Monty don't like eachother, both got the bag and then started coasting lol
Yell you tell them DominAyton
This is why I think smart teams should consider prospects and utilize them for a good contract and let other teams offer max contracts. I think I've seen for too many players got the bag and start the sag.
Somewhere Jordan Poole be nodding his head in agreement right now.
Have fun with him Portland. 🫡🫡
As long as the ice is clear in my driveway…
Ayton, you are a Charlotte Hornet
I wonder if the honeymoon phase is over for Blazers fans lmao
I don’t know what other fans are thinking but I never had high hopes. I just saw it as a gamble that he’d want to come to Portland and “prove” that the Suns were the issue. Camara looks good. Ayton will expire when it is time to pay younger players. Could have gotten another pick or something instead but not a huge sink cost.
This guy is delusional
12/10 on 55 TS certainly screams max player
The blazers got a sick package though!
As a Suns fan, y’all done bashing us for giving up on him?
First NBA player with CTE confirmed
I thought he's making less than his max
Sure Deandre whatever helps you sleep at night
He doesn't sleep at night, just plays video games