What do you think Ayton's priorities should be?

[bigfoot]

So for this offseason what should Ayton be focusing on for improvement??

Spoiler:

I'm going to keep it really simple and only list two things.

1) Everything I heard about Ayton was he is an uber-athletic big man. I'm not convinced that I have seen this from him yet. The most telling moment for me in the bubble was watching him get beat down the floor by Boban in the Dallas game. I think he needs to tone down his lifting for bulk and replace it with huge amounts of cardio. Giannis is closer to 240 pounds at 25 years old while Ayton is 250 at 22 years old. Both are 6'11" tall. I think losing 10 pounds and focusing on cardio will allow him to play with more energy (motor). Getting to 240 would allow him to jump higher, run faster, and play more minutes. If he is an uber-athlete he should be able to run like a gazelle beating most other big guys down the court. I don't think he can do that at his current weight. He needs to start now on a huge cardio program that doesn't kill his knees but has to be some type of repeated short sprints. The will/desire to move without the basketball is telling.

2) He needs to refine his pick-n-roll game with both video sessions and on-court training. He should be watching tape of Amare, Karl Malone, and some of the other masters at pick-n-roll. Sure they had Nash and Stockton to facilitate but he should be able to run it with Booker and Rubio. Part of this goes back to his fitness and being willing to roll hard which I haven't seen from him yet.

If he can master these two areas for next season I could see big improvements in his points, the number of free-throw attempts, blocks, and even his rebounding numbers. I would expect 24/14/2.5 and 5 FTAs per game.

[sunskerr]

Face up game and/or 3 point shooting. I want him to be able to impact the game offensively. His defense is above average now, but his offense is still lacking. He may score 18 ppg but if you look closer he's not really at the top of any of the major ratings like rpm, or perhaps the most accurate/modernized one, Raptor.

I think the 3 point shot would technically be the easiest to start providing more impact, as it's very simple and doesn't require a lot of complex movements like facing up and putting offensive moves on a defender. Plus, he already started working on it a little bit before the bubble.

The face up game would be nice because it requires the development of some ball handling skills and shot creating skills. He'll need to add it eventually anyway, to become an elite player.

He can lose or gain weight alongside any skill set he chooses to develop, and it shouldn't affect the development of his skills because it's mostly a modification of weight room/eating protocols which as an elite athlete he does already.

[cberry78]

Attacking the rim.

Attacking the rim.

Perfect his shot (from every/anywhere).

Attacking the rim.

[LV-Suns]

I wouldn’t be so down on him if could just get to the line. He has the body to do it, but he is one of the softest bigs I have seen. He puts no pressure on the defense.

[Ghost of Kleine]

So for this offseason what should Ayton be focusing on for improvement??

Spoiler:

I'm going to keep it really simple and only list two things.

1) Everything I heard about Ayton was he is an uber-athletic big man. I'm not convinced that I have seen this from him yet. The most telling moment for me in the bubble was watching him get beat down the floor by Boban in the Dallas game. I think he needs to tone down his lifting for bulk and replace it with huge amounts of cardio. Giannis is closer to 240 pounds at 25 years old while Ayton is 250 at 22 years old. Both are 6'11" tall. I think losing 10 pounds and focusing on cardio will allow him to play with more energy (motor). Getting to 240 would allow him to jump higher, run faster, and play more minutes. If he is an uber-athlete he should be able to run like a gazelle beating most other big guys down the court. I don't think he can do that at his current weight. He needs to start now on a huge cardio program that doesn't kill his knees but has to be some type of repeated short sprints. The will/desire to move without the basketball is telling.

2) He needs to refine his pick-n-roll game with both video sessions and on-court training. He should be watching tape of Amare, Karl Malone, and some of the other masters at pick-n-roll. Sure they had Nash and Stockton to facilitate but he should be able to run it with Booker and Rubio. Part of this goes back to his fitness and being willing to roll hard which I haven't seen from him yet.

If he can master these two areas for next season I could see big improvements in his points, the number of free-throw attempts, blocks, and even his rebounding numbers. I would expect 24/14/2.5 and 5 FTAs per game.

Aggression, Tenacity, and then aggression again! Ohhh and maybe more agression!

All joking aside though!

1- AGRESSION!
2- defensive awareness.
3- Getting to the free throw line.
4- his ballhandling skills.
5- His three point shot! And to a lesser extent, His shooting mechanics ( mid range game extensively).

It might not be the right time, But the suns front office should really invest in having Ayton go to Olajuwans' " Dream Camp" for big men! And maybe also hire Garnett's to mentor him on his defensive tenacity and motor ( attitude).

[SunsLyf3]

Challenging himself to be more aggressive. It's all mental with him. Sure he can work on his 3 point shooting, pick n roll and defense but none will matter if he doesn't have the mentality to assert himself.

[Crives]

I would say 3pt shooting. One of the easier things to practice as a big in the offseason.

[Mjee]

Attack the basket

Stop being soft

[Blonde]

Playing like he gives a damn

[bigfoot]

I would say 3pt shooting. One of the easier things to practice as a big in the offseason.

This is really a worry for me. I would guess this is the type of stuff he would want to work on this summer. Seems easy to just stand outside the arc and launch threes.

I see a couple of issues. First, it doesn't address his lack of free throws attempts. Second, it limits his offensive rebounding numbers as he will be away from the basket. I don't think Ayton is going to be a high volume three-point shooter when he's got so many other things to work on on both sides of the ball.

[Desertfox]

Consistency, he's already shown he can be good both offensively and defensively, just has to do it all the time.

[sunskerr]

I would say 3pt shooting. One of the easier things to practice as a big in the offseason.

This is really a worry for me. I would guess this is the type of stuff he would want to work on this summer. Seems easy to just stand outside the arc and launch threes.

I see a couple of issues. First, it doesn't address his lack of free throws attempts. Second, it limits his offensive rebounding numbers as he will be away from the basket. I don't think Ayton is going to be a high volume three-point shooter when he's got so many other things to work on on both sides of the ball.

Getting a face up game and the skills required to use that face up game would help him tremendously in getting to the foul line. Things like putting moves on a defender, pump faking, dribbling and attacking the rim should all lend themselves to increasing his FTA.

In a way I suppose we're all talking about the same thing. It should be noted though that adding a 3 can also help getting to the line if he develops the tools to put the ball on the floor when attacking the close out.

[lilfishi22]

Said this when he was drafted and said this last off season: Ball handling.

He'll never be a threat to go to line if he can't put the ball on the floor

[lilfishi22]

I would say 3pt shooting. One of the easier things to practice as a big in the offseason.

This is really a worry for me. I would guess this is the type of stuff he would want to work on this summer. Seems easy to just stand outside the arc and launch threes.

I see a couple of issues. First, it doesn't address his lack of free throws attempts. Second, it limits his offensive rebounding numbers as he will be away from the basket. I don't think Ayton is going to be a high volume three-point shooter when he's got so many other things to work on on both sides of the ball.

Yeah it's a cop out for him imo. Any can stand outside and shoot 3's but only a few can grab the kind of boards and draw the fouls he *could* if he played closer to the rim. Not saying he shouldn't shoot 3's but he's got higher priorities imo

[sasquatchBob]

Get his head straight. If that happens then he is an All-NBA player.

[Saberestar]

Mentality.

He needs to find how to be motivated and playing hard all the time. He needs to work with a therapist on that. t's all mental with him.

[bigfoot]

Attacking the rim.

Attacking the rim.

Perfect his shot (from every/anywhere).

Attacking the rim.

Attacking the rim can be done in two ways. He can either become an elite rim runner in the pick-n-roll or he can really work on his ball-handling so that he can drive by his man when he is faced up to the basket. Ideally, we would like to see him do both they should improve his free throw attempts.

I think his post-up game should be one of the last things he develops in his career. Obviously it would be nice to have in his arsenal but we know post-ups are one of the least efficient shots in the league.

I think Ayton should do some football sled, tackling, and other contact drills this summer. He needs to get used to physical contact and up his aggression. Maybe Baynes can take him out for some Rugby practice.

[Calvin Klein]

Try

[phx#7]

Help/team defense - Him becoming a good weak side defender is probably worth 10+ wins on it's own. If he can develop into a great one the team is looking at competing for home court in the 1st round without minimal other team growth. He seems much better at this in late game situations so I hope he's able to get the light to go off and start doing it the entire game.

Playing through contact/offensive aggressiveness - even by NBA standards he is a physical outlier and should be using that more to his advantage. He doesn't really pressure the rim hard off pick or in the post. He usually looks to just drop it in over smaller guys or fade away from other bigs. He should be fouling out entire front lines, not bailing them out by avoiding contact.

Hands - I don't know what it is but he struggles securing the ball when receiving a low pass in traffic. His hand are so good at securing the ball up high even in a crowd it's odd to see him fumble it as often as he does.

Boxing out- this would normally by higher on my priority list for any big since it can help the team as a whole a lot(and why I love Adams so much), but his knack for just taking the ball away from the opposition in a crowd is still quite helpful.

[Fo-Real]

ALPHA DOG TRAINING!!!! If you are gonna be a bear anyway, YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE A GRIZZLY!!!!! Attack mode at all times!!!