Shams Wow: Ayton signs 2 year deal with Lakers

[JimmyPlopper]

Luka Donic / Gabe Vincent / Bronny James
Austin Reaves / Shake Milton
LeBron James / Dalton Knecht
Rui Hachimura / Jake LaRavia / Adou Thiero
DeAndre Ayton / Jarred Vanderbilt / Maxi Kleber

[morosis]

said it before, will say it again. i cant wait to see how many wide open shots LAL gives up in the Ayton, Luka, and Lebron minutes.

a guy who is too lazy to make rotations, and two guys who want to conserve their energy for the other end. wouldnt be suprised if LAL leads the league in opposing team FG% next year if all of those 3 play decent minutes together.

[TheHartBreakKid]

Lots being said about the move from the Laker standpoints, and it's all mostly true. Definitely a risk, with a lot riding on coaching/leadership and Ayton's menalitity.

That said, let's look at this from Ayton's perspective;

Dude basically just got rewarded for being a headcase in Portland;

-He makes almost all his money back that he gave up in the Buy Out, with 8m security for next season in a player option.
- He goes to a situation where it'll surely benefit him basketball fit wise vs the Blazers, with Lebron/Luka feeding him Lobs and providing easy chances.
- He goes to a situation where it'll surely benefit him in terms of role/playing time. Blazers had Clingan & Robert Williams competing with him for minutes
- He goes to a situation where he'll benefit from media attention around the Lakers. He will also be featured in a team that atleast on paper is supposed to win more than the Blazers were expected to.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% like what the blazers did and I expect them to be a team on the rise. He was a cancer in the lockerroom, and took minutes from young developing prospects.

And I'm also fully aware that some of these "benefits" for Ayton can be potential negatives for him as well if he lets it; Bigger spotlight means more attention on any potential lack of effort, and any lockerroom issues. Playing with LEbron/Luka, and dealing with the LA spotlight can be additional distractions for a player who has been known to be mentally weak.

That said though, this is as close to a perfect situation you could expect if you're Ayton. He was heading down Andre Drummond territory, and now has a optimal chance to rebuild his value, a chance that he quite frankly didn't deserve.

[Invictus88]

This move has a lot of upside, Ayton was a #1 pick for a reason. But also, there's a reason they were able to get him for cheap. High risk, high reward is the right term.

No. There is no risk involved here.

Ayton is going to give you somewhere around 16 and 10 in a fairly non-impactful manner with marginal defense. He will be good for some dunks and will completely disappear in games as well.

He has done this literally every year he has been in the league like clockwork. Independent of any situation or circumstance that he has been put in.
He won't really develop much of anything new skills-wise. You get what you get with him.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/aytonde01.html

If you are somehow expecting / planning on more than that and you pay him mega dollars then that's on you and it's your fault when he doesn't produce it.

For 8.8 million a season this output is just fine. It's just not worth the 30+ mill per year he is making on his current contract; especially in past years with lower caps.

[littlerock2277]

Luka Donic / Gabe Vincent / Bronny James
Austin Reaves / Shake Milton
Rui Hachimura / Dalton Knecht
LeBron James / Jake LaRavia / Adou Thiero
DeAndre Ayton / Maxi Kleber

That bench is horrible. The only one I would imagine possible getting another contract in the future is knecht. The rest will be out of the league within a year or 2

[JimmyPlopper]

Luka Donic / Gabe Vincent / Bronny James
Austin Reaves / Shake Milton
Rui Hachimura / Dalton Knecht
LeBron James / Jake LaRavia / Adou Thiero
DeAndre Ayton / Maxi Kleber

That bench is horrible. The only one I would imagine possible getting another contract in the future is knecht. The rest will be out of the league within a year or 2

I actually like the Thiero pickup

[TimberKat]

Not even kidding, this might go down as one of the best signings the Lakers have made in the last 10–15 years.

Ayton catches way too much hate, but people forget he’s a legit 7 footer who’s averaged a double-double basically every season since he came into the league. He’s not just tall he’s skilled. Soft touch around the rim, can hit that short midrange, strong rebounder, and when he’s locked in defensively, he can anchor a team.

People clown him for the Suns stuff, but he helped take that team to the Finals. That playoff run wasn’t a fluke, he was efficient as hell and made impact plays on both ends. Now he’s only 26 and landing on a Lakers team with actual structure, vets, and a chance to win again? This is the best possible spot for him.

He basically signed for the mid-level exception. That’s wild. You’re getting a potential all star caliber big for backup money. In today’s market, that’s insane.

Honestly, if he plays up to his potential, we’re talking best big on the Lakers since Shaq. No disrespect to Pau, Bynum, Dwight (the first time), or AD but Ayton’s ceiling as a true center, on both ends, is up there. If he stays healthy and puts together a few big years in LA, he’s absolutely in the Hall of Fame conversation down the road.

Perfect fit, great timing, and low risk/high reward. If it hits, we’ll be looking back at this as one of the smartest signings in modern Lakers history.

I'm really not trying to be mean, but all your posts are very bad.

Two seasons ago, I said the Mavs were going to the Finals after the Gafford trade, and everyone told me I was crazy. I put money on it at terrible odds, and I posted about it way before it happened. Guess who cashed. Ayton’s next. Y’all laugh now, but wait. Statue outside Crypto.com Arena in a few years.

While I may not agree with your assessment of Ayton but do like your enthusiasm for Luka and Lakers. The true is likely somewhere in-between. I can see him play some valuable minutes. But I think you are going to have to paid for that Statue and rent the space to put it outside of Crypto.com.

[BigGargamel]

Lakers roster was so bad that this is actually a pretty big upgrade.

Really hope the Nuggets get this team in the playoffs again. Jokic is going to take what's left of Ayton's soul he didn't already snatch when they matched up in the playoffs a few years ago.

Luka is going to have to do a monumental carry job with this collection of trash.

[The Master]

Lots being said about the move from the Laker standpoints, and it's all mostly true. Definitely a risk, with a lot riding on coaching/leadership and Ayton's menalitity.

That said, let's look at this from Ayton's perspective;

Dude basically just got rewarded for being a headcase in Portland;

-He makes almost all his money back that he gave up in the Buy Out, with 8m security for next season in a player option.
- He goes to a situation where it'll surely benefit him basketball fit wise vs the Blazers, with Lebron/Luka feeding him Lobs and providing easy chances.
- He goes to a situation where it'll surely benefit him in terms of role/playing time. Blazers had Clingan & Robert Williams competing with him for minutes
- He goes to a situation where he'll benefit from media attention around the Lakers. He will also be featured in a team that atleast on paper is supposed to win more than the Blazers were expected to.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% like what the blazers did and I expect them to be a team on the rise. He was a cancer in the lockerroom, and took minutes from young developing prospects.

And I'm also fully aware that some of these "benefits" for Ayton can be potential negatives for him as well if he lets it; Bigger spotlight means more attention on any potential lack of effort, and any lockerroom issues. Playing with LEbron/Luka, and dealing with the LA spotlight can be additional distractions for a player who has been known to be mentally weak.

That said though, this is as close to a perfect situation you could expect if you're Ayton. He was heading down Andre Drummond territory, and now has a optimal chance to rebuild his value, a chance that he quite frankly didn't deserve.

Also: he'll be in a virtual contract year with player option for a 2nd year - Blazers could literally tank his value by playing Clingan heavy minutes instead and keeping him on the team, and next year Ayton would've received only a minor interest. So that's another angle for him benefiting heavily from being a headcase, because they just didn't want him on their roster anymore.

Now, not only he gets all the undeserved money for his old contract, but he's also in situation to rack up stats alongside Luka and Bron to get massively paid in the next offseason. He's still an elite finisher (82% at 0-3ft) and with Luka it will be massive.

So for a year, I expect professional Ayton actually giving a try. Because if he doesn't, he'll become a minimum/back-up level player - and he still has athleticism to actually get seriously paid.

[Invictus88]

Lots being said about the move from the Laker standpoints, and it's all mostly true. Definitely a risk, with a lot riding on coaching/leadership and Ayton's menalitity.

That said, let's look at this from Ayton's perspective;

Dude basically just got rewarded for being a headcase in Portland;

-He makes almost all his money back that he gave up in the Buy Out, with 8m security for next season in a player option.
- He goes to a situation where it'll surely benefit him basketball fit wise vs the Blazers, with Lebron/Luka feeding him Lobs and providing easy chances.
- He goes to a situation where it'll surely benefit him in terms of role/playing time. Blazers had Clingan & Robert Williams competing with him for minutes
- He goes to a situation where he'll benefit from media attention around the Lakers. He will also be featured in a team that atleast on paper is supposed to win more than the Blazers were expected to.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% like what the blazers did and I expect them to be a team on the rise. He was a cancer in the lockerroom, and took minutes from young developing prospects.

And I'm also fully aware that some of these "benefits" for Ayton can be potential negatives for him as well if he lets it; Bigger spotlight means more attention on any potential lack of effort, and any lockerroom issues. Playing with LEbron/Luka, and dealing with the LA spotlight can be additional distractions for a player who has been known to be mentally weak.

That said though, this is as close to a perfect situation you could expect if you're Ayton. He was heading down Andre Drummond territory, and now has a optimal chance to rebuild his value, a chance that he quite frankly didn't deserve.

Drummond followed this exact same path... He signed with the Lakers after being bought out by Cleveland and after flopping spectacularly in the playoffs (basically being benched) he was dumped and signed at the league minimum the next year....

[Swift21]

man what are the Warriors doing?

Letting Kuminga dictate their offseason which makes no sense.

[Yoshun]

I'm not a big Ayton fan, but it's not bad for the price, an easy call.

[JHFVF07]

Guys, Ayton is a 8M signing, we arent waiting for Tim Duncan production here. An average starter and our 5th best player will already be great.

[MrGoat]

No one could have seen this coming. I think I only made five or so posts here predicting this

This is a better fit than people think, even on defense. The dirty little secret is Luka is a plus defender when you're not playing a forward as a center like JJ Redick did in the playoffs with Dorian Finney Smith. Luka is very good at baiting opposing players into going to the wrong spots on the floor which creates a lot of turnovers, provided they don't have a free pass to just go to the rim. Dallas' defense took them to the Finals and it was actually their offense (and Tony Brothers) that failed them in the Finals. They could still definitely use another playable center for depth but this was a huge signing for them

Ayton was making 34M next season regardless and that hasn't changed, I'm not sure why the Lakers gave him more than a minimum unless that was part of the deal they made with the Blazers before the buyout that they would lower the amount they have to pay Ayton next season

[JimmyPlopper]

I think one of the most underrated aspects of Ayton is that he can guard forwards a lot more effectively than many centers can (when he cares)

[picc]

Here's how this is gonna go:

Ayton's touch and offensive skill are going to pair in magic synergy with the all-time creators around him, and the Laker offense is going to explode when 3 of those guys are on the court together. His effort on defense and rebounding and screening will improve because the vets around him will be on his ass about it, and he'll be wanting to prove himself in a potential contract year. He'll improve the Lakers on both ends.

Then the playoffs will start and his baby softness and mental fragility will throw all that out the window, and he'll eventually be benched for whoever the backup center is at the end of the season.

[MasterIchiro]

Lakers obviously got skunked.

No way Ayton's defense made him their top choice.

They probably bid on Claxton, overpaid for Mark Williams, bid on Claxton a second time, before bowing out today.

[Karmaloop]

Ayton is getting a little over $8M/year. He can be abysmal defensively, but as long as he's able to convert the MANY open looks he'll likely get from LeBron and Luka he will be worth the money they're paying. And that isn't much.

[HMFFL]

Now all of Ayton's issues will be shown to the country under the bright lights of the LA market. Terrific.

Lebron in particular will love playing with this guy.

The Ayton and Luka's weight will be the focus.

All things Lebeon must be positive.

-Media

[Me Like Lakers]

In the end of the day, the way I see this is answering whatever you feel better with Ayton without giving any assets (or DFS I guess) for 8 mil versus mark Williams for knetch and pick with his questionable health for whatever he makes a season.

Personally I prefer the first option.