Deandre Ayton news and highlights

[lilfishi22]

I didn't realize how big of a human Ayton was until seeing him in person when he played the raptors earlier this year.

What's up with his FTA per game though? Someone with his size and talent could be making a a living at the line

He's not very aggressive offensively.




Or the NBA ref association has it out for Ayton because they don't like the Suns

[Frank Lee]

I didn't realize how big of a human Ayton was until seeing him in person when he played the raptors earlier this year.

What's up with his FTA per game though? Someone with his size and talent could be making a a living at the line

thats the frustration.... as he is physically dominant over 9 of 10 Cs.... but often plays as SheMan, Master of the Puniverse


we are banking on him to man up eventually. And it seems he is less intimidated....


whether or not HE will become intimidating is the big what if. Next yr cant come soon enough.

[Fo-Real]

He is 20, I have a 22 yo who is still not confident about his life path and ways of the world yet. He has not yet even grown into his own body yet, let him acclimate to playing with grown men, then to the fact that he is supposed to be the best player in the world at his age before we judge him as such.

[handsome salary]

Love hearing Chambers and EJ talk in code about what a wuss he is.

[bigfoot]

Love hearing Chambers and EJ talk in code about what a wuss he is.

Frightening for the future of this franchise when your TV guys start pointing out the obvious.

[bwgood77]

Love hearing Chambers and EJ talk in code about what a wuss he is.

Frightening for the future of this franchise when your TV guys start pointing out the obvious.

Funny thing is he's still better than any rookie we've had since Amare.

[lilfishi22]

Love hearing Chambers and EJ talk in code about what a wuss he is.

Frightening for the future of this franchise when your TV guys start pointing out the obvious.

Funny thing is he's still better than any rookie we've had since Amare.

Shows how poor our previous picks have been

[bwgood77]

Frightening for the future of this franchise when your TV guys start pointing out the obvious.

Funny thing is he's still better than any rookie we've had since Amare.

Shows how poor our previous picks have been

Luka throws things out of perspective. Ayton is still pretty amazing at a lot of things for a rookie. If he never learns that desire to protect the rim and play with aggressiveness it will be sad and that was my fear with drafting him...why he didn't play with aggression or care about protecting the rim at all.

Even though I thought the same when he was asked the question about advising Zion and the other top picks, his answer about them being better than him isn't really something you want to hear coming out of your #1 pick's mouth.

[lilfishi22]

Funny thing is he's still better than any rookie we've had since Amare.

Shows how poor our previous picks have been

Luka throws things out of perspective. Ayton is still pretty amazing at a lot of things for a rookie. If he never learns that desire to protect the rim and play with aggressiveness it will be sad and that was my fear with drafting him...why he didn't play with aggression or care about protecting the rim at all.

Even though I thought the same when he was asked the question about advising Zion and the other top picks, his answer about them being better than him isn't really something you want to hear coming out of your #1 pick's mouth.

Yes but Ayton is a fine rookie. He's going through what most rookies go through in their first year in the league. Most rookies come in with high expectations but most fall below that which is fine. But my other point was that our draft picks have been poor which artificially props up Ayton if the only comparison is to the Suns recent draft history. TJ is a good role player, Booker is a good starter but aside from that, Bender, Jackson, Ennis, Ulis have all been trash. Ayton has been solid, that's about it but when you compare him to what we got from the aforementioned players, Ayton kind stands out like Tim Duncan or something. It's only when you put it into perspective, especially in a particularly strong draft, he doesn't really stand out at all among the Lukas and the Trae's and hell, even Bagley who I didn't particularly care for before or after the draft. So it's not just Luka, who's by far the best rookie but even the other guys are playing well enough make Ayton's draft position a little...dubious.

Also I agree with your feelings about Ayton's advice to this year's prospect. It's not something that gives you much confidence in your guy.

[bwgood77]

Shows how poor our previous picks have been

Luka throws things out of perspective. Ayton is still pretty amazing at a lot of things for a rookie. If he never learns that desire to protect the rim and play with aggressiveness it will be sad and that was my fear with drafting him...why he didn't play with aggression or care about protecting the rim at all.

Even though I thought the same when he was asked the question about advising Zion and the other top picks, his answer about them being better than him isn't really something you want to hear coming out of your #1 pick's mouth.

Yes but Ayton is a fine rookie. He's going through what most rookies go through in their first year in the league. Most rookies come in with high expectations but most fall below that which is fine. But my other point was that our draft picks have been poor which artificially props up Ayton if the only comparison is to the Suns recent draft history. TJ is a good role player, Booker is a good starter but aside from that, Bender, Jackson, Ennis, Ulis have all been trash. Ayton has been solid, that's about it but when you compare him to what we got from the aforementioned players, Ayton kind stands out like Tim Duncan or something. It's only when you put it into perspective, especially in a particularly strong draft, he doesn't really stand out at all among the Lukas and the Trae's and hell, even Bagley who I didn't particularly care for before or after the draft. So it's not just Luka, who's by far the best rookie but even the other guys are playing well enough make Ayton's draft position a little...dubious.

Also I agree with your feelings about Ayton's advice to this year's prospect. It's not something that gives you much confidence in your guy.

I'm the only one comparing him to past rookies of ours...yes, they have been poor, but at least we have a guy that can do something. Now if he doesn't become an interior defensive presence or more passion it will suck because you won't want to pay him a lot because at the C position defense is key. Kanter who has been just below or a bit above a TS% of 60% along with elite rebounding the last few years is a good example, considering he isn't highly valued around the league.

So hopefully he develops the defensive stuff. It was always a close draft, particularly after Luka with Ayton, Trae and JJJ. I didn't like Bagley or Bamba much. I did like Carter.

The thing is McD always said he was going big, and I'd still rather have Ayton than Bagley or Bamba. My guess is that if we drafted 2nd and Ayton went first we would have taken Bagley anyway.

[lilfishi22]

16/10 is nothing to scoff at, especially at high efficiency. However those numbers do start to fade into the background when you consider other factors like FTA's, aggression, effort, defense and rim protection. Even if a rookie isn't good (like most rookies), at the very least they can play with effort and aggression. To go through this same effort questioning exercise with Ayton as we did with Bender is doubly disappointing.

[handsome salary]

I'm still waiting to see a display of this freaky athleticism. He doesn't look consistently any quicker or agile than others his height and only plays above an 8 foot rim.

[sunsbg]

16/10 is nothing to scoff at, especially at high efficiency. However those numbers do start to fade into the background when you consider other factors like FTA's, aggression, effort, defense and rim protection. Even if a rookie isn't good (like most rookies), at the very least they can play with effort and aggression. To go through this same effort questioning exercise with Ayton as we did with Bender is doubly disappointing.

I usually defend Ayton, as some are too hard on him, but I agree here. It's like someone asked him to take it easy. Personally I would bench him for some defensive plays where he doesn't even try to block, so I think this is also a coaching problem in addition to him trying to look like a modern big. I have already said that he should be living from the FT line, again both a player and coaching issue.

Character evaluation has been a weakness in past drafts. Bender, Ayton - lack of aggression, Chriss/JJ - too much aggression

[RaisingArizona]

I'm still waiting to see a display of this freaky athleticism. He doesn't look consistently any quicker or agile than others his height and only plays above an 8 foot rim.

I agree. He was a freak in the NCAA but in the NBA, he's par for the course in terms of big men.

[bigfoot]

Ayton ripped on Doug and Wolf today for the Cavs game ... zero fouls and too much fortnite

[handsome salary]

I thought this quite was hitting the nail on the head

"Deandre is a basketball mime. Going through the motions but not making any noise."

-Sad Lions Fan @ Arizona Sports

[Hesh]

After the loss to Cleveland

“I gave them enough time to let them run what they got to run,” Ayton said. “Now I’m about to just take over now. It’s about that time to take over and not really look back.”

“It’s just tough,” said Ayton about the losing skid. “It’s not easy to deal with. I’m going to try my best to take over. Real talk.”

“I will always answer this kind of questions and put it on the coach,” Suns first-year head coach Igor Kokoskov said. “How I can make him be more involved. Just not necessarily in regards to his offense, not necessarily his touches, but he’s a big part of our system on both sides of the court. Defensively. That’s a challenge for me as a coach to keep him more engaged. Keep him more involved. That’s strategically what we’re trying to do.”

“On the flipside, players play the game,” Kokoskov continued. “You’ve got to demand. You’ve got to show some will and some energy and demand to be involved. You can call a play, but the play doesn’t mean it’s necessarily for you. You trigger the problem and you don’t know who is going to shoot the ball. How the play is going to be executed.”

4 hours until game time, let's see if its actual REAL talk this time, or just another empty comment to add to the list of things he's said

[Saberestar]

Read on Twitter

[Blackification]

After the loss to Cleveland

“I gave them enough time to let them run what they got to run,” Ayton said. “Now I’m about to just take over now. It’s about that time to take over and not really look back.”

“It’s just tough,” said Ayton about the losing skid. “It’s not easy to deal with. I’m going to try my best to take over. Real talk.”

“I will always answer this kind of questions and put it on the coach,” Suns first-year head coach Igor Kokoskov said. “How I can make him be more involved. Just not necessarily in regards to his offense, not necessarily his touches, but he’s a big part of our system on both sides of the court. Defensively. That’s a challenge for me as a coach to keep him more engaged. Keep him more involved. That’s strategically what we’re trying to do.”

“On the flipside, players play the game,” Kokoskov continued. “You’ve got to demand. You’ve got to show some will and some energy and demand to be involved. You can call a play, but the play doesn’t mean it’s necessarily for you. You trigger the problem and you don’t know who is going to shoot the ball. How the play is going to be executed.”

4 hours until game time, let's see if its actual REAL talk this time, or just another empty comment to add to the list of things he's said

incoming game with 8 fg attempts while collins get 20/10

[Saberestar]

After the loss to Cleveland

“I gave them enough time to let them run what they got to run,” Ayton said. “Now I’m about to just take over now. It’s about that time to take over and not really look back.”

“It’s just tough,” said Ayton about the losing skid. “It’s not easy to deal with. I’m going to try my best to take over. Real talk.”

“I will always answer this kind of questions and put it on the coach,” Suns first-year head coach Igor Kokoskov said. “How I can make him be more involved. Just not necessarily in regards to his offense, not necessarily his touches, but he’s a big part of our system on both sides of the court. Defensively. That’s a challenge for me as a coach to keep him more engaged. Keep him more involved. That’s strategically what we’re trying to do.”

“On the flipside, players play the game,” Kokoskov continued. “You’ve got to demand. You’ve got to show some will and some energy and demand to be involved. You can call a play, but the play doesn’t mean it’s necessarily for you. You trigger the problem and you don’t know who is going to shoot the ball. How the play is going to be executed.”

4 hours until game time, let's see if its actual REAL talk this time, or just another empty comment to add to the list of things he's said

I think that there is some disconnection between Kokoskov and Ayton.

Hopefully this brings us the best Ayton and he plays tougher on both ends.