DeAndre Ayton

[thr3ep01nte4]

Ayton can be a decent rim protector, as Towns is doin better this year. He may not have the upside like Bamba on defense but it’s enough in some ways.

[The Master]

Yeah, I'm not saying it will be easy, but there are examples of prospects with physical tools and athletic profile, who developed their rim protection skills after NBA draft to decent level. Porzingis had 1,7blk per36 in last season in Europe, then as NBA rookie he had 2,4blk per game per36, and right now he's the best rim protector in a league according to stats. Ayton is lacking a defensive awareness right now but is it accurate to say he definitely won't become a great rim protector one day? I don't think so.

[azcatz11]

Ayton on CBS RN

[DirtyDez]

Refs took him out but I keep feeling impressed by his passing. 6 blocks doesn't hurt either.

[916fan]

Great hands, crazy coordination and mobility for size, good inside outside touch.

Just not sure he has the fluidity+dynamism+skill level to be a high usage offensive center and struggle to see him becoming physical and instinctive enough defensively to make up for that.

Has the natural talent to be a productive big, but I question how much a team with him as the focal point can win.

https://cleaningtheglass.com/midseason-draft-review-deandre-ayton/

Ben Falk wrote an article about Ayton for his draft review series.

He talked about the physical tools, offensive touch

But his main concern was Aytons BBIQ. This is something that can be improved but is a concerning flag. Ayton does not have the greatest feel for the game.

Which really supports what you are saying. These are fixable problems of course but the question is how much?

Which really swings back to the debate of physical tools vs feel for the game. Whats more valuable?

But you gotta factor in that - while the BBIQ hasn't shown up YET, he's still put tremendous production and done it efficiently. If the BBIQ does come around, you have a freak.

After dealing with the IQs of Thomas Robinson, Ben McLemore, and now Skal Labissiere.... I know what bad IQ is. Trust me, Ayton has far from bad BBIQ.

lol SKAL man..that dude has the worst IQ I've ever seen.

[anthony00]

Watch on YouTube

[rumdiary]

Watch on YouTube

He's extremely articulate, which is a good sign of general intelligence, which is a good sign in general

[doordoor123]

Watch on YouTube

He's extremely articulate, which is a good sign of general intelligence, which is a good sign in general

Not really too articulate. It was an average interview. Really wasn’t much said on his part, he wasn’t very direct and confident. The interviews will matter more during the draft process.

[DirtyDez]

Watch on YouTube

He's extremely articulate, which is a good sign of general intelligence, which is a good sign in general

I've always come away impressed when he's been interviewed. You'd think he'd speak low and slow like a young giant.

[Alatan]

Watch on YouTube

He's extremely articulate, which is a good sign of general intelligence, which is a good sign in general

General intelligence doesnt equal "basketball intelligence". BB IQ is more like a combination of intuition, awareness and playing the right style of basketball while understanding the fundamentals and fine nuances of the game.
That being said Ayton seems like a fast learner but he is super raw and his team defense, help defense and rim protection is awful.

[Themaster007_v2]

As much as I like Marvin Bagley, this DeAndre kid has too much of an upside for me to overlook. He's a legit 7 footer with a grown man's body. His size, athleticism, ability to shoot/face the basket and run down the court is built for the current NBA style of play. Definitely going to be a matchup nightmare. I don't normally say these things but to me, he's a can't miss prospect. He's a better prospect coming out of school than every player from the 2016 and 2017 draft class. He's practically built like Lebron and Cam Newton in the sense that his physique is on another level compared to his peers.

[DirtyDez]

21 3pt attempts in his first ten games. Five 3pt attempts in his last 13 games.

[BigRedWarrior]

As much as I like Marvin Bagley, this DeAndre kid has too much of an upside for me to overlook. He's a legit 7 footer with a grown man's body. His size, athleticism, ability to shoot/face the basket and run down the court is built for the current NBA style of play. Definitely going to be a matchup nightmare. I don't normally say these things but to me, he's a can't miss prospect. He's a better prospect coming out of school than every player from the 2016 and 2017 draft class. He's practically built like Lebron and Cam Newton in the sense that his physique is on another level compared to his peers.

Note: I've only seen a couple pac-12 games with Ayton.

I wasnt super impressed with Ayton and feel a high floor rather than extreme upside.
I get that the non-existent spacing in the NCAA accentuates his weaknesses.

His role in the NBA is going to be a rim runner with defensive rim protection.
I cant see a limited skillset translating into a top 5 player (or top 10 player), esp with how hard it is to be a superstar as a big. Seemed like a Drummond type (with worse passing) to me

Any points Im missing here? Genuinely curious since I havent seen much of him.

Clear strengths
Rim protection, both as a strong side and weak side defender.
Athleticism in being a play-finisher at the rim and running the floor (not in the PnR roll man role though)

Clear weaknesses:
His finishing around the rim (floater range 3-10 feetish) looked pretty bad.
Ball handling was non-existent
Hands were noticeably bad

[Kolkmania]

As much as I like Marvin Bagley, this DeAndre kid has too much of an upside for me to overlook. He's a legit 7 footer with a grown man's body. His size, athleticism, ability to shoot/face the basket and run down the court is built for the current NBA style of play. Definitely going to be a matchup nightmare. I don't normally say these things but to me, he's a can't miss prospect. He's a better prospect coming out of school than every player from the 2016 and 2017 draft class. He's practically built like Lebron and Cam Newton in the sense that his physique is on another level compared to his peers.

Note: I've only seen a couple pac-12 games with Ayton.

I wasnt super impressed with Ayton and feel a high floor rather than extreme upside.
I get that the non-existent spacing in the NCAA accentuates his weaknesses.

His role in the NBA is going to be a rim runner with defensive rim protection.
I cant see a limited skillset translating into a top 5 player (or top 10 player), esp with how hard it is to be a superstar as a big. Seemed like a Drummond type (with worse passing) to me

Any points Im missing here? Genuinely curious since I havent seen much of him.

Clear strengths
Rim protection, both as a strong side and weak side defender.
Athleticism in being a play-finisher at the rim and running the floor (not in the PnR roll man role though)

Clear weaknesses:
His finishing around the rim (floater range 3-10 feetish) looked pretty bad.
Ball handling was non-existent
Hands were noticeably bad

His weakside rim protection is actually one of his biggest weaknesses. He's incredibly nimble for his size, which makes him an excellent one-on-one defender, but he rarely rotates over to provide rim protection and refuses to block shots somehow. Must say that over the last month I see some progression.

Finishing around the rim is not a problem (at least in the NCAA), he's finishing a ridiculous 85% around the rim.

Ayton has positively surprised me this season, but I'm struggling to see in which role he'll provide massive value. Only centers in the league who are the vocal points of their offense are DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiid, and I can't see Ayton filling the same role.
Which means he needs to be a force when he's not having the ball. I can see him being a great lob target, a 2nd/3rd option. But defense should be his main calling card as a center imo, and if he's not going to be an anchor that will limit the ceiling of his team.

[The-Power]

Clear strengths
Rim protection, both as a strong side and weak side defender.

Ayton is by no means a rim protector – neither strong nor weak side. Certainly not anywhere near what you'd expect of a player with his physical profile. He's an excellent rebounder, though.

[BigRedWarrior]

Ayton is by no means a rim protector – neither strong nor weak side. Certainly not anywhere near what you'd expect of a player with his physical profile. He's an excellent rebounder, though.

His weakside rim protection is actually one of his biggest weaknesses. He's incredibly nimble for his size, which makes him an excellent one-on-one defender, but he rarely rotates over to provide rim protection and refuses to block shots somehow. Must say that over the last month I see some progression.

Finishing around the rim is not a problem (at least in the NCAA), he's finishing a ridiculous 85% around the rim.

Ayton has positively surprised me this season, but I'm struggling to see in which role he'll provide massive value. Only centers in the league who are the vocal points of their offense are DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiid, and I can't see Ayton filling the same role.
Which means he needs to be a force when he's not having the ball. I can see him being a great lob target, a 2nd/3rd option. But defense should be his main calling card as a center imo, and if he's not going to be an anchor that will limit the ceiling of his team.

Thanks for filling me in. Watched a bit of the Oregon game as well and his shot blocking doesnt seem as good as I thought.

In regards to finishing around the rim: I actually do think hes really lacking and the Oregon / UW game kind of reinforced my thoughts on this. Unless he gets a clean dunk, he seems to have little touch at the rim against contests. The further away he gets from the restricted area, he tries these weird looking hook shots and his left hand is pretty bad.

Just a small sample size perhaps?

[Alatan]

As much as I like Marvin Bagley, this DeAndre kid has too much of an upside for me to overlook. He's a legit 7 footer with a grown man's body. His size, athleticism, ability to shoot/face the basket and run down the court is built for the current NBA style of play. Definitely going to be a matchup nightmare. I don't normally say these things but to me, he's a can't miss prospect. He's a better prospect coming out of school than every player from the 2016 and 2017 draft class. He's practically built like Lebron and Cam Newton in the sense that his physique is on another level compared to his peers.

Note: I've only seen a couple pac-12 games with Ayton.

I wasnt super impressed with Ayton and feel a high floor rather than extreme upside.
I get that the non-existent spacing in the NCAA accentuates his weaknesses.

His role in the NBA is going to be a rim runner with defensive rim protection.
I cant see a limited skillset translating into a top 5 player (or top 10 player), esp with how hard it is to be a superstar as a big. Seemed like a Drummond type (with worse passing) to me

Any points Im missing here? Genuinely curious since I havent seen much of him.

Clear strengths
Rim protection, both as a strong side and weak side defender.
Athleticism in being a play-finisher at the rim and running the floor (not in the PnR roll man role though)

Clear weaknesses:
His finishing around the rim (floater range 3-10 feetish) looked pretty bad.
Ball handling was non-existent
Hands were noticeably bad

Clear strengths
7 foot athletic freak

Clear weaknesses:
Playing basketball

Only half-joking

[Roddy B for 3]

As much as I like Marvin Bagley, this DeAndre kid has too much of an upside for me to overlook. He's a legit 7 footer with a grown man's body. His size, athleticism, ability to shoot/face the basket and run down the court is built for the current NBA style of play. Definitely going to be a matchup nightmare. I don't normally say these things but to me, he's a can't miss prospect. He's a better prospect coming out of school than every player from the 2016 and 2017 draft class. He's practically built like Lebron and Cam Newton in the sense that his physique is on another level compared to his peers.

Note: I've only seen a couple pac-12 games with Ayton.

I wasnt super impressed with Ayton and feel a high floor rather than extreme upside.
I get that the non-existent spacing in the NCAA accentuates his weaknesses.

His role in the NBA is going to be a rim runner with defensive rim protection.
I cant see a limited skillset translating into a top 5 player (or top 10 player), esp with how hard it is to be a superstar as a big. Seemed like a Drummond type (with worse passing) to me

Any points Im missing here? Genuinely curious since I havent seen much of him.

Clear strengths
Rim protection, both as a strong side and weak side defender.
Athleticism in being a play-finisher at the rim and running the floor (not in the PnR roll man role though)

Clear weaknesses:
His finishing around the rim (floater range 3-10 feetish) looked pretty bad.
Ball handling was non-existent
Hands were noticeably bad

His weakside rim protection is actually one of his biggest weaknesses. He's incredibly nimble for his size, which makes him an excellent one-on-one defender, but he rarely rotates over to provide rim protection and refuses to block shots somehow. Must say that over the last month I see some progression.

Finishing around the rim is not a problem (at least in the NCAA), he's finishing a ridiculous 85% around the rim.

Ayton has positively surprised me this season, but I'm struggling to see in which role he'll provide massive value. Only centers in the league who are the vocal points of their offense are DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiid, and I can't see Ayton filling the same role.
Which means he needs to be a force when he's not having the ball. I can see him being a great lob target, a 2nd/3rd option. But defense should be his main calling card as a center imo, and if he's not going to be an anchor that will limit the ceiling of his team.

Offensivley, see Zach Randolph's offense with a 3pt shot and less motor issues. On defense I see a player with conditioning issues. In interviews I see a smart young man who wants to win.

[retrobro90]

I think he's gonna be quick end to end with NBA experience under his belt. Way more half court sets in college and Ayton will understand he's gotta keep up once he sees how fast the game is at the next level. Guy's got great speed going north south when he actually wants to. Demarcus can't get back on defense because he's way too doughy. Ayton is like 5% body fat and a great leaper.

[Pinkyring]

He'll look great in a mavs uniform i just hate these old freshman, he's about to be 20 already