From Chicago: the AYO Thread

[navdeep_singh]

Really love BD’s and DDR’s comments on the rook last night. Made me think we have a special player, here. Also: who remembers when Jimmy Butler couldn’t’ get off the bench for Thibs? I don’t understand that. BD has the dynamic maturity to recognize maturity and run with it. He’s a coach who is perceptive and trusts his players.

“He can play both ways,” Donovan explained last week. “He understands who he is. He plays into his strengths, and he’s really been, competitively, very mature. And he’s reliable. You know what you’re going to get from him when he goes out there. He’s an energy guy. He gets himself in the game. I’ve just got a lot of trust, belief and confidence in him.”

“He’s got a certain kind of makeup that I think is really special,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s ultra-competitive, and he has unbelievable confidence and belief in himself. But it’s not cross-the-line arrogant. That’s really a hard combination, where you believe in yourself but you don’t come across like you have all the answers. He just is fearless.”

“It’s not surprising,” DeRozan said. “I remember watching him in college and the toughness that he brought. It’s been a joy and entertaining getting to know him. The humbleness that he carries himself with, along with the toughness, is definitely one of a kind. He’s the epitome of a Chicago kid. When you throw him out there on the road, he does something like this tonight. It just shows who he is as a basketball player.”

[TyrusRose2425]

I was ecstatic when he fell to us and then that we actually drafted him. He’s a victim of not being a one and done guy. Ayo can become Jrue 2.0 in this environment over time.

[waffle]

he plays team ball. Just watch him out there. He's always thinking

[mmmmmbeeer]

He's an incredibly instinctive basketball player given his age and experience. His mind is very quickly processing the game situationally while he's on the court and he just....reacts. He's not worried about the crowd, his coach, his teammates, missing a shot, making a mistake....he trusts his instincts enough to have confidence that, more often than not, he's going to make the right move on either end of the court. Can't teach that.

[sco]

Good job on thread!

Ayo deserves his own thread.

I am happy to see him out there contributing. I'm sure I'll catch some flack on my assessment, and I'm thrilled that we are getting some very needed minutes with positive contributions on both ends from a 2nd round pick rookie. But I am only impressed with Ayo when I look at him through the 2nd round pick rookie lens, but when I look at what he does vs. other NBA players, I don't see more than an energy guy with a good BBIQ.

I'll contrast what I see from Ayo vs. what I saw from Coby (who I'm not very high on). Coby was showing flashes of Harden-esque moves and shots.

That said, I'm rooting for him to get a good chance to stay in the rotation and grow more.

[PaKii94]

Comparing his game to Coby white is night and day. Coby was a chicken with his head cut off dieing on screens 90% of the time.

Ayo on the other hand is a lot more poised, can play defense and him hitting 3s is a pleasant surprise.

I do think he can eventually take over the Caruso role on the team.

[gardenofsound]

I didn't watch Illini basketball but definitely heard a lot about Ayo from his exploits last season.

This dude has been a revelation. And his shot, janky as it is, has been effective. It gives me low-key Joakim Noah tornado vibes. If he can go spend time with Lonzo Ball's shot doctor to tighten up that motion... watch out.

I don't fully understand the take that he has a limited ceiling. He has prototypical size as a combo guard (Wade-esque height/wingspan) and is already a NBA level defender with awareness on both ends and the tools/hustle to act on it.

I get strong Jimmy Butler vibes off of this kid. Jimmy's strengths coming into the league were defense and drawing fouls. His big minus was his T-Rex arms.

Ayo has the wingspan but isn't quite the foul magnet that Butler was coming in. He showed marked year-over-year development in college and has come in as a more developed scorer.

[navdeep_singh]

He's an incredibly instinctive basketball player given his age and experience. His mind is very quickly processing the game situationally while he's on the court and he just....reacts. He's not worried about the crowd, his coach, his teammates, missing a shot, making a mistake....he trusts his instincts enough to have confidence that, more often than not, he's going to make the right move on either end of the court. Can't teach that.

That excellent feel for the game, which can’t be taught, mixes really well with his apparent desire and openness to learn, take in information, analyze, and grow and develop. It’s like BDs comments about confidence without self arrogance. They seem to be at odds with each other, at first glance. But when coupled together, they can create the possibility of someone special as a player.

Like Jimmy Butler, perhaps AYO was handicapped by not elite level athletic measurements. I think he appears to have chip on his shoulder, but is already more intellectually polished than Butler was, in terms of temperament. Same kind of desire, but perhaps a bit more calm and analytical. That is my impression, anyway.

Two things; curious what Kendall Gill thinks of him.

Also: regarding Thibs reluctance to play rookies: who remembers the post game rankings here? The Good! The bad. The Bogans.

[dougthonus]

If Ayo continues to display a consistent three point shot, he's going to be very deadly. He's shooting a nice percentage after last night (low attempts), but his form/release don't look like the type that would generate consistent percentages. We'll see how that goes.

He's already proven he's a rotation player though. Great defense, enough ball skills, great mentality. Can't wait to see how much better he gets. It's a shame we didn't go out 3 years on him.

[fleet]

It helps to be on this team, which is organized and all he has to do is fit in. It might be a lot more rough if he had pressure on him to create plays on a more selfish team. But he doesn’t fit in to a fault the way Pat does. He has the mentality of a killer, and his floor game is ready to contribute.

[superdave]

Ayo fits this team like a glove, in many ways he seems like an extension of Lonzo and AC with his on-ball defense and transition game. He looks like Kris Dunn defensively, but with bball IQ and some actual offensive finishing ability. That shot looks clunky but if he develops into a league average catch and shoot corner 3 point shooter- we certainly have something (out of a 2nd round pick, no less). I often think that if Illinois had a deep tourney run, Ayo would have been drafted higher. Maybe we should thank Sister Jean for Ayo falling to the Bulls

[sco]

Looking forward the Ayo vs. Coby thread!

[TheSuzerain]

He stands out physically a lot more than I expected.
Turns out a 6'10" wingspan on a guard is very valuable!

[CaPiTanAK]

He’s the Taj Gibson at combo guard.

[sco]

He’s the Taj Gibson at combo guard.

That is a good comparison. Taj really stood out as one of the few rookies who made it seem like the game wasn't moving too fast for him. I do see that in Ayo too.

[MrSparkle]

I really like that between the 3 PGs, each guy can:

- Throw a nice alley-oop
- Finish an alley-oop (and around the basket)
- Shoot the open 3P

Not to mention textbook defense, IQ and instincts for loose balls.

Love Ayo. Great team player. They did target something particular with the off-season PG hunt (or guards in general), and I think Ayo was the unexpected gift.

Temple and Troy were bigger versions of the same thing. Monte Morris. Just seems to be a prototype trend in AK’s guards. Two-way Swiss army combo guards with high IQ and skills.

Though Troy’s hit a low peak. Doesn’t seem to play with a chip. I don’t get it; the opportunity was there, and he needs to earn a new contract. There were a few times where he played more aggressive D, but maybe it’s not his bag (playing very fast and aggressive). Shame cause he has a nice skill-set that just needs to improve (shooting consistency, handles/passing). He might do fine in a slower system like Phoenix.

Sato is the weird duck. He fit the mold perfectly, but I’ve never seen a guy who could drift between looking like a bonafide NBA starter for 30 seconds with his emphatic dunk in traffic who could guard 3 position, to looking like a completely zero-impact replaceable player in his prime. Just a case of a Euroleague type of well-rounded player whose speed and skills are just barely, awkwardly short of NBA average.

Ayo is a jack of all trades, but it seems he has crafty hands and a crazy wingspan. And that Chicago edge.

[dabig3]

Love Ayo. All the word we've heard about him since the summer league has been his work ethic and asking Qs from every player possible. And it's showing. I thought he was already one of the most "NBA ready" draft picks, and that he's a steal for us.

And he's working out with another hometown kid and legend in Maurice Cheeks, who I actually forgot was now part of the Bulls coaching staff.

https://sports.yahoo.com/billy-donovan-bulls-rookie-ayo-032833642.html

As impressive as Dosunmu’s stat line was, it’s the work ethic and attention to detail that is standing out to coaches and teammates.

Here’s a player who didn’t shoot an open shot as Derrick Rose closed out on him in the loss to the Knicks, forcing Alex Caruso to take a worse shot to avoid a shot clock violation. Dosunmu watched film on that, listened to coaches telling him to step into the next open shot and then hit that huge 3-pointer.

Or a player who had displayed some difficulty finishing early in the season as he tried to understand how much more defensive length existed at the NBA level. So he watched film on that and, lo and behold, scored over Al Horford on Monday with a crafty, spinning shot.

“One thing I really love about the NBA is how quick coaches are there to help you make corrections,” Dosunmu said.

On the night, Dosunmu scored on three layups, a runner in the lane and two catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.

“I think I’m a completely different player from Summer League,” Dosunmu said. “Going through training camp and practices, guarding the guys on the team, gaining knowledge, learning each day. My thing is, I want to get better each day. If it’s 1 percent, 0.1 percent, I want to get better each day. So that’s what I pride myself on.”

You can hear the basketball IQ in Dosunmu when he talks about being in a different role than when he was starring for the Fighting Illini. There, he demanded the defensive attention. Now he knows that falls on DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević.

So now that he’s running some with at least one starter that Donovan staggers with the reserve unit, he’s studying ways to be ready for catch-and-shoot opportunities off the ball. Or a quick drive once one of the primary options attacks and kicks out a pass.

“I know how to get in the right spots and shoot,” Dosunmu said.

Donovan noted how Dosunmu has hit game-winning shots to end scrimmages in practices. That’s the fearlessness at work.

It sucks that he dropped and lost some money in the process, but I'm selfish and I'm just really happy he landed with the hometown team, lol. And he really is in one of the best development landing spots in the NBA with all the talent now on the Bulls player and coaching staff. And it sounds like he's improving every practice.

I really enjoyed that part about learning the difference in length between college and NBA. Back in college, Ayo was a giant guard. Hell, he's a big body combo guard in the NBA already, but the NBA is faster and stronger and longer than what he's used to. So after a couple bad possessions in the earlier games, they went to work and fast to help Ayo improve. And I think we're already seeing dividends that will just continue to be improved on.

[FriedRise]

Reminds me a bit of Kris Dunn, minus the fouling but with maybe a better 3pt shot.

[gardenofsound]

Love Ayo. All the word we've heard about him since the summer league has been his work ethic and asking Qs from every player possible. And it's showing. I thought he was already one of the most "NBA ready" draft picks, and that he's a steal for us.

And he's working out with another hometown kid and legend in Maurice Cheeks, who I actually forgot was now part of the Bulls coaching staff.

https://sports.yahoo.com/billy-donovan-bulls-rookie-ayo-032833642.html

As impressive as Dosunmu’s stat line was, it’s the work ethic and attention to detail that is standing out to coaches and teammates.

Here’s a player who didn’t shoot an open shot as Derrick Rose closed out on him in the loss to the Knicks, forcing Alex Caruso to take a worse shot to avoid a shot clock violation. Dosunmu watched film on that, listened to coaches telling him to step into the next open shot and then hit that huge 3-pointer.

Or a player who had displayed some difficulty finishing early in the season as he tried to understand how much more defensive length existed at the NBA level. So he watched film on that and, lo and behold, scored over Al Horford on Monday with a crafty, spinning shot.

“One thing I really love about the NBA is how quick coaches are there to help you make corrections,” Dosunmu said.

On the night, Dosunmu scored on three layups, a runner in the lane and two catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.

“I think I’m a completely different player from Summer League,” Dosunmu said. “Going through training camp and practices, guarding the guys on the team, gaining knowledge, learning each day. My thing is, I want to get better each day. If it’s 1 percent, 0.1 percent, I want to get better each day. So that’s what I pride myself on.”

You can hear the basketball IQ in Dosunmu when he talks about being in a different role than when he was starring for the Fighting Illini. There, he demanded the defensive attention. Now he knows that falls on DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević.

So now that he’s running some with at least one starter that Donovan staggers with the reserve unit, he’s studying ways to be ready for catch-and-shoot opportunities off the ball. Or a quick drive once one of the primary options attacks and kicks out a pass.

“I know how to get in the right spots and shoot,” Dosunmu said.

Donovan noted how Dosunmu has hit game-winning shots to end scrimmages in practices. That’s the fearlessness at work.

It sucks that he dropped and lost some money in the process, but I'm selfish and I'm just really happy he landed with the hometown team, lol. And he really is in one of the best development landing spots in the NBA with all the talent now on the Bulls player and coaching staff. And it sounds like he's improving every practice.

I really enjoyed that part about learning the difference in length between college and NBA. Back in college, Ayo was a giant guard. Hell, he's a big body combo guard in the NBA already, but the NBA is faster and stronger and longer than what he's used to. So after a couple bad possessions in the earlier games, they went to work and fast to help Ayo improve. And I think we're already seeing dividends that will just continue to be improved on.

Breakout second round picks have higher earning potential than mid-late 1sts. They hit RFA earlier and can get big paydays earlier.

[bad knees]

The thing that is really striking to me about Ayo is his drive to improve, and his ability to do so in fairly short order. Dare I say it, but it strikes me as Butler-esque. Based on what I have seen so far, I won't put a ceiling on him. Not saying he doesn't have a ceiling - of course he does, everyone does. Just saying that his ceiling is unknown because he is just beginning to work on all the ways he can improve.