Deandre Ayton news and discussion

[dremill24]

His rebounding is elite. His timidness on offense still massively frustrates me. When KP blocked him in the 4th last night, he only blocked him because Ayton hesitated and then went up soft. Had he immediately went up strong and slammed it home, it would have been 2 points and a ball to KP's face. It ended up not being a huge deal because he got the ball back and immediately threw it out to Booker, who hit the shot, but it's still a concerning long-term trend. Guy just is missing some key attributes necessary to be truly dominate. I get that KP is tall and long but Ayton is also tall and long and much stronger and more athletic. Letting KP intimidate him so much is just silly. Suns need to get this guy the best sports psychologist in the business.

Hmmm..I came away thinking he responded well on that play..figured he just isn't used to a guy a few inches taller than him so easily having his hand above him going up. Wasn't KP behind him? Anyway, I didn't get the impression he could have avoided that block with KP right on him. But ended up keeping the ball as you said and turning it into an assist on a 3, which ended up being even better.

I think hes more alluding to the fact that Ayton caught the ball literally on the block and KP was a good 2-3 steps away toward the free throw line and he sorta just sat there with the ball waiting foe KP before going up for the dunk.

He went up for it a little stronger than normal in that he tried to dunk with two hands, which is progress i suppose. Though the next progression is to understamd how to use your body to take away the shot blocker's angle. But his initial hesitation on the catch i think is what irked people on that play. He stuck with it and got an assist though so thats good.

[bwgood77]

CONTESTED SHOTS PER GAME
1. Brook LopezMIL 17.5
2. Deandre AytonPHX 14.9
3. Rudy GobertUTA 14.5
4. Myles TurnerIND 13.9
5. Jarrett AllenCLE 12.3
6. Christian WoodHOU 11.7
7. John CollinsATL 11.5
8. Clint CapelaATL 11.4
9. Anthony DavisLAL 11.1
9. Jakob PoeltlSAS 11.1

CONTESTED TWOS PER GAME
1. Brook LopezMIL 14.2
2. Rudy GobertUTA 11.4
3. Myles TurnerIND 11.3
4. Deandre AytonPHX 10.5
5. Jarrett AllenCLE 10.3
6. Clint CapelaATL 9.9
7. Jakob PoeltlSAS 8.7
8. Jonas ValanciunasMEM 8.6
9. Serge IbakaLAC 8.5
9. Christian WoodHOU 8.5

CONTESTED THREES PER GAME
1. Zion WilliamsonNOP 5.8
2. Josh HartNOP 4.6
3. Deandre AytonPHX 4.5
4. Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL 4.4
5. Andrew WigginsGSW 4.3
6. Eric BledsoeNOP 4.2
6. Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOKC 4.2
8. Luguentz DortOKC 4.1
9. RJ BarrettNYK 4.0
9. Darius BazleyOKC 4.0

SCREEN ASSISTS PER GAME
1. Rudy GobertUTA 6.9
2. Domantas SabonisIND 6.6
3. Steven AdamsNOP 5.5
4. Jarrett AllenCLE 5.0
4. Wendell Carter Jr.CHI 5.0
6. Deandre AytonPHX 4.7
7. Nikola JokicDEN 4.5
8. Jakob PoeltlSAS 4.4
9. Bam AdebayoMIA 4.3
9. Khem BirchORL 4.3

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle-leaders/

[ELON121]

1

[ELON121]

Hello, suns fans, I am new here and this is literally my first post...
I really enjoy reading all your posts and threads and thought why not join you...

So lately, I watched a lot of Ayton's college and NBA games/highlights, NBA mostly, and I would like to share with you my thought on the subject.

I think the main and maybe the only reason that Ayton regressed and plays very inconsistent is the COVID 19 pandemic. If you think about it all started in the bubble. Before the bubble, he played quite well and was much more confident, focused, and determined. He showed big improvement from his rookie year. We all saw it. You can clearly see it in his stats as well... Last year he barely loses the handle on the ball or didn't catch it on the P&R, and he played much more aggressively and gave some great performers.

The social distance, uncertain future, and worry for our families hurt us all mentally and sensitive people even more. Ayton is a sensitive person who deals with a lot of pressure already: he is a Number 1 pick, everyone compares him to Luksa all the time, he is already 3 years in the league, and the internet is full of people criticizing him after every little mistake, picking on his tale, which I believe don't help. I think criticizing and yelling at sensitive people don't help much, the opposite, it harms their confidence. I even remember Steve Kerr once said that he treats players differently, said that yelling at Klay doesn't work that it just makes him goes into his shell.

Ayton needs a normal, stress-free life. He needs a big loud crowd who will push him forward and give him the motivation to succeed. A crowd who will help him to cope with all the pressure he has. He needs all those fan's high 5s at the end of the game. You can clearly see it on his face and his body language in the last year highlights when he blocks someone or hit a shot. I am sure Ayton cares the most about what the fans think about him. The more affection he will get from the fans the better he will be. And with time and success, he will be able to deal with the big pressure he has.

I haven't given up on Ayton yet. I think The COVID 19 pandemic badly spoiled Deandre Ayton's progress and I believe it will all be different when life will get back to normal and the arenas will be loud and crowded. Which we all really hoped for regardless...

[Frank Lee]

Yup... yet another COVID casualty. But I didn’t realize it could cause gonad retraction.

[ELON121]

Yup... yet another COVID casualty. But I didn’t realize it could cause gonad retraction.

You can be as cynical and sarcastic as you want but It wouldn't help or change anything...
and I believe he would prove you wrong

[Frank Lee]

Ok Mother Ayton.

Bottom line, the dude is mentally weak. He is immature and until he takes this game seriously, dedicates himself on another level, I doubt will ever reach the vaulted potential he has been labeled with. You can coddle him, theorize why all you want, but he’s on a pathway to underachievement. He’s playing at about 70% of his perceived potential, and at about 50% of his professed potential. (See biggest joke of tattoo)

But you can go ahead and blame it on the lack of crowd support and such.. our boy is soft between the ears as much as on the court. But he’s ‘our boy’.... for now.

[bwgood77]

Hello, suns fans, I am new here and this is literally my first post...
I really enjoy reading all your posts and threads and thought why not join you...

So lately, I watched a lot of Ayton's college and NBA games/highlights, NBA mostly, and I would like to share with you my thought on the subject.

I think the main and maybe the only reason that Ayton regressed and plays very inconsistent is the COVID 19 pandemic. If you think about it all started in the bubble. Before the bubble, he played quite well and was much more confident, focused, and determined. He showed big improvement from his rookie year. We all saw it. You can clearly see it in his stats as well... Last year he barely loses the handle on the ball or didn't catch it on the P&R, and he played much more aggressively and gave some great performers.

The social distance, uncertain future, and worry for our families hurt us all mentally and sensitive people even more. Ayton is a sensitive person who deals with a lot of pressure already: he is a Number 1 pick, everyone compares him to Luksa all the time, he is already 3 years in the league, and the internet is full of people criticizing him after every little mistake, picking on his tale, which I believe don't help. I think criticizing and yelling at sensitive people don't help much, the opposite, it harms their confidence. I even remember Steve Kerr once said that he treats players differently, said that yelling at Klay doesn't work that it just makes him goes into his shell.

Ayton needs a normal, stress-free life. He needs a big loud crowd who will push him forward and give him the motivation to succeed. A crowd who will help him to cope with all the pressure he has. He needs all those fan's high 5s at the end of the game. You can clearly see it on his face and his body language in the last year highlights when he blocks someone or hit a shot. I am sure Ayton cares the most about what the fans think about him. The more affection he will get from the fans the better he will be. And with time and success, he will be able to deal with the big pressure he has.

I haven't given up on Ayton yet. I think The COVID 19 pandemic badly spoiled Deandre Ayton's progress and I believe it will all be different when life will get back to normal and the arenas will be loud and crowded. Which we all really hoped for regardless...

I totally agree that I think this is a large part of it and have posted as such in the past. He was doing very well and made massive improvements last year but then we suddenly had a 4 1/2 month break - not where you could work out with players but in isolation...so not only can you not work out with teammates, but you can't work out as well on your own without access to they gym and your trainer.

Then you have a short stretch of games, and he played well in a couple of them, but then he has another 4 months off. So that's over 8 months off with a couple weeks of games in the middle, and otherwise isolation.

Now this might not be THAT big of deal for many players, but for a 3rd year player, and almost really a second year player based on games played in 109 games his first two seasons so basically at the start of this season it would be like he'd be a third of the way through his second season...and of course this is a shortened one where you have to spend time in isolation when not playing, and then we had a week off of games a month into the season.

You can tell it impacted some other players as Booker has regressed, Paul has regressed in some areas, etc, and they are vets.

Despite this he has improved in some areas since last year like efficiency, rebounding, screen assists, contested shots, etc. I think he will continue to get better. He already makes a big impact with his gravity and with his screens resulting in made baskets, and impacting shots so those things are big, as are his rebounds after we saw our team get badly outrebounded for years.

People will always complain about him because it's in their nature but I think he will continue to improve as the season goes on and beyond.

Great first post.

As for Frank's ridiculous rebuttles, he still is better than all but about 2 Cs to come into the NBA at this point in his career, and he started his career late and as I mentioned a lot his rookie year, came in with massive holes in his defensive game and was more of a finesse player much of the time. People want him to be Shaq but that's not who he is.

[Frank Lee]

Ridiculous? I’m hardly the only one who questions his mental fortitude and BBIQ. Elon describes a weak superficial player who needs a ‘stress free life’ to succeed? That’s rich. Newsflash, every player dealt with the same restrictions of working out and nonpractice...yet y’all wet noodle Deyawndre and make it yet another excuse for him to be slack. You ignore your eyes and run to stats to defend this cream puff.

Can’t you just admit the guy does not give a 100%... as that is the biggest gripe most have.

Oh... and is there stat for timid?

[bwgood77]

Ridiculous? I’m hardly the only one who questions his mental fortitude and BBIQ. Elon describes a weak superficial player who needs a ‘stress free life’ to succeed? That’s rich. Newsflash, every player dealt with the same restrictions of working out and nonpractice...yet y’all wet noodle Deyawndre and make it yet another excuse for him to be slack. You ignore your eyes and run to stats to defend this cream puff.

Can’t you just admit the guy does not give a 100%... as that is the biggest gripe most have.

He has lapses...he is learning. I have said since AZ that sometimes he has paralysis from analysis because he has so many people yelling in his ear. If he just plays with instinct people would probably complain less.

As I mentioned with the COVID stuff, he was in the process of learning his job when he had to be in isolation for 4 months twice with little contact...sure, seasoned players had it too but it won't impact them as much.

Compare him to his contemporaries like Bamba who started playing like 5-7 years earlier, or JJJ, or Bagley, or Wendell Carter Jr, and he is crushing them in his play and development.

There are times where he doesn't put in max effort, but you could say the same about a guy like Book, who everyone loves, with his low effort and little attention to defense 80% of the time. Or a ton of boneheaded turnovers where he isn't thinking. People get ALL on Ayton if he fumbles 2 balls away but Book can have 8 turnovers and you hear very little.

It's just double standard and absurd expectations when you see other bigs drafted in the top 6-8 in his draft class doing little to nothing.

I watch all the games in depth, and there are mental lapses, some lack of effort, but there is a lot of solid defense, rebounding, different ways of scoring, more aggressiveness lately, etc, with no one really passing the ball because he is respected enough by other coaches to double team him every game...but then he is a solid passer finding the open man. He also is sixth in the NBA in screen assists...getting a guy open for a score off his screen. He is near the top in contested shots. These are pretty impressive accomplishments for his age and where he is in his career.

[Slim Charless]

Ridiculous? I’m hardly the only one who questions his mental fortitude and BBIQ. Elon describes a weak superficial player who needs a ‘stress free life’ to succeed? That’s rich. Newsflash, every player dealt with the same restrictions of working out and nonpractice...yet y’all wet noodle Deyawndre and make it yet another excuse for him to be slack. You ignore your eyes and run to stats to defend this cream puff.

Can’t you just admit the guy does not give a 100%... as that is the biggest gripe most have.

He has lapses...he is learning. I have said since AZ that sometimes he has paralysis from analysis because he has so many people yelling in his ear. If he just plays with instinct people would probably complain less.

As I mentioned with the COVID stuff, he was in the process of learning his job when he had to be in isolation for 4 months twice with little contact...sure, seasoned players had it too but it won't impact them as much.

Compare him to his contemporaries like Bamba who started playing like 5-7 years earlier, or JJJ, or Bagley, or Wendell Carter Jr, and he is crushing them in his play and development.

There are times where he doesn't put in max effort, but you could say the same about a guy like Book, who everyone loves, with his low effort and little attention to defense 80% of the time. Or a ton of boneheaded turnovers where he isn't thinking. People get ALL on Ayton if he fumbles 2 balls away but Book can have 8 turnovers and you hear very little.

It's just double standard and absurd expectations when you see other bigs drafted in the top 6-8 in his draft class doing little to nothing.

I watch all the games in depth, and there are mental lapses, some lack of effort, but there is a lot of solid defense, rebounding, different ways of scoring, more aggressiveness lately, etc, with no one really passing the ball because he is respected enough by other coaches to double team him every game...but then he is a solid passer finding the open man. He also is sixth in the NBA in screen assists...getting a guy open for a score off his screen. He is near the top in contested shots. These are pretty impressive accomplishments for his age and where he is in his career.

This. All things considered I think this is one of DAs better games. Having to go against 2 all star caliber big men and pulling 16 rbs along with 3 blocks is a monster game.

[Frank Lee]

CONTESTED SHOTS PER GAME
1. Brook LopezMIL 17.5
2. Deandre AytonPHX 14.9
3. Rudy GobertUTA 14.5
4. Myles TurnerIND 13.9
5. Jarrett AllenCLE 12.3
6. Christian WoodHOU 11.7
7. John CollinsATL 11.5
8. Clint CapelaATL 11.4
9. Anthony DavisLAL 11.1
9. Jakob PoeltlSAS 11.1

CONTESTED TWOS PER GAME
1. Brook LopezMIL 14.2
2. Rudy GobertUTA 11.4
3. Myles TurnerIND 11.3
4. Deandre AytonPHX 10.5
5. Jarrett AllenCLE 10.3
6. Clint CapelaATL 9.9
7. Jakob PoeltlSAS 8.7
8. Jonas ValanciunasMEM 8.6
9. Serge IbakaLAC 8.5
9. Christian WoodHOU 8.5

CONTESTED THREES PER GAME
1. Zion WilliamsonNOP 5.8
2. Josh HartNOP 4.6
3. Deandre AytonPHX 4.5
4. Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL 4.4
5. Andrew WigginsGSW 4.3
6. Eric BledsoeNOP 4.2
6. Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOKC 4.2
8. Luguentz DortOKC 4.1
9. RJ BarrettNYK 4.0
9. Darius BazleyOKC 4.0

SCREEN ASSISTS PER GAME
1. Rudy GobertUTA 6.9
2. Domantas SabonisIND 6.6
3. Steven AdamsNOP 5.5
4. Jarrett AllenCLE 5.0
4. Wendell Carter Jr.CHI 5.0
6. Deandre AytonPHX 4.7
7. Nikola JokicDEN 4.5
8. Jakob PoeltlSAS 4.4
9. Bam AdebayoMIA 4.3
9. Khem BirchORL 4.3

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle-leaders/

What kind of stats are these.?. What do they tell you? That DA ‘contests’ shots? To what degree ? How many of those were buckets,,,, define contest. Running at someone on the trey line with hands up?? The ball either goes in or it doesn’t, no? I don’t recall DA blocking anyone in the perimeter in a while. May be display what the shooting % is for these contested shots. These are Syrup on the stat boy’s pancakes.

And the screen assist? This is some made up stat. So DA sets a weak ass pick , and CP or Book scores ... ? DA gets a ‘screen assist’? If you are seeing the same game, this is more of a testament to CP’s and Book’s ability to get their shot.

These are empty stats and a fine example of excessive analytics that paint a picture you want to see.

Furthermore, the comparison to of DA to the likes of Bagley or JJJ and other recently drafted bigs is moot. They are not the barometer or bench mark for DA. I can see some validity to compare him to other Cs at the same point in their development, but even then, there are so many extraneous factors that you should be cautious to draw any conclusions. Imagine Monty in a presser defending DA by saying he is playing better than Bamba, or ‘when Cousins was in his third year....’ it’s all about now.

DA gets the eyeball from me. He sleeps walks a double double. He’s not an effort player, nor a one who understands the game in the sense of spacing and being in the right place. He ‘stats’ it up purely by his physical advantages. I like that he’s playing better, has found a niche on D. He’s learned to use his size...but he still doesn’t get it. He muddles up our offense, and is prone to disappear. Blah blah blah
You’ve heard it all before.

He’s an Intercal part of this team… By necessity. But he needs to bring it 95-100% of the time rather than this 70% level he runs. That’s the difference come playoff time. Our success will depend on him picking it up a notch or two. Why is CP in his ear at all times it seems? He sees his potential. But Poor Effort is a terrible quality and hard to shake. This is yr 3 and his ‘just a kid’ pass is expiring. Sad thing is, his 70% is better than our other options. We are toast without him.

Btw, I’m still cracking up over the ‘sensitive’ Deandre defense. Comes a point where he has to grow up and y’all quit making excuses for him. I think Monty is there. This is a grown ass man’s game. Our little big man is finding that out.

[Saberestar]

Ayton is a good starting C already at 22 years old. He is showing that we can win with him in the middle playing big minutes.

He is not perfect by any means, and he makes mistakes BUT he help us to win games. He is a big positive on the court. He helps a lot on defense, rebounding and as a scoring option in the paint.

Even If he does not improve at all ever (but I doubt it) he will be a good starting C for years to come. That position is settled for us.

He is not an energy guy, it is true.
But who would prefer players like Lou Amundson or Jevon Carter over Ayton because they gave/give it all every minute on the court? That would be crazy.

Some players are great the way they are and we need to accept them. Yeah, they have limitations and they are not perennial All Stars, but they play a big role on winning teams.

I am happy with Ayton because I do not expect him to be Shaq, The Admiral or anyone like that. Obviously I would be happier if he improves in some areas, but you get the idea of what I am saying. Some people expect too much from him.

He will not get a max contract the way he is playing but I think he will get a nice long term offer from us next summer. Hopefully we can extend him.

[ELON121]

Hello, suns fans, I am new here and this is literally my first post...
I really enjoy reading all your posts and threads and thought why not join you...

So lately, I watched a lot of Ayton's college and NBA games/highlights, NBA mostly, and I would like to share with you my thought on the subject.

I think the main and maybe the only reason that Ayton regressed and plays very inconsistent is the COVID 19 pandemic. If you think about it all started in the bubble. Before the bubble, he played quite well and was much more confident, focused, and determined. He showed big improvement from his rookie year. We all saw it. You can clearly see it in his stats as well... Last year he barely loses the handle on the ball or didn't catch it on the P&R, and he played much more aggressively and gave some great performers.

The social distance, uncertain future, and worry for our families hurt us all mentally and sensitive people even more. Ayton is a sensitive person who deals with a lot of pressure already: he is a Number 1 pick, everyone compares him to Luksa all the time, he is already 3 years in the league, and the internet is full of people criticizing him after every little mistake, picking on his tale, which I believe don't help. I think criticizing and yelling at sensitive people don't help much, the opposite, it harms their confidence. I even remember Steve Kerr once said that he treats players differently, said that yelling at Klay doesn't work that it just makes him goes into his shell.

Ayton needs a normal, stress-free life. He needs a big loud crowd who will push him forward and give him the motivation to succeed. A crowd who will help him to cope with all the pressure he has. He needs all those fan's high 5s at the end of the game. You can clearly see it on his face and his body language in the last year highlights when he blocks someone or hit a shot. I am sure Ayton cares the most about what the fans think about him. The more affection he will get from the fans the better he will be. And with time and success, he will be able to deal with the big pressure he has.

I haven't given up on Ayton yet. I think The COVID 19 pandemic badly spoiled Deandre Ayton's progress and I believe it will all be different when life will get back to normal and the arenas will be loud and crowded. Which we all really hoped for regardless...

I totally agree that I think this is a large part of it and have posted as such in the past. He was doing very well and made massive improvements last year but then we suddenly had a 4 1/2 month break - not where you could work out with players but in isolation...so not only can you not work out with teammates, but you can't work out as well on your own without access to they gym and your trainer.

Then you have a short stretch of games, and he played well in a couple of them, but then he has another 4 months off. So that's over 8 months off with a couple weeks of games in the middle, and otherwise isolation.

Now this might not be THAT big of deal for many players, but for a 3rd year player, and almost really a second year player based on games played in 109 games his first two seasons so basically at the start of this season it would be like he'd be a third of the way through his second season...and of course this is a shortened one where you have to spend time in isolation when not playing, and then we had a week off of games a month into the season.

You can tell it impacted some other players as Booker has regressed, Paul has regressed in some areas, etc, and they are vets.

Despite this he has improved in some areas since last year like efficiency, rebounding, screen assists, contested shots, etc. I think he will continue to get better. He already makes a big impact with his gravity and with his screens resulting in made baskets, and impacting shots so those things are big, as are his rebounds after we saw our team get badly outrebounded for years.

People will always complain about him because it's in their nature but I think he will continue to improve as the season goes on and beyond.

Great first post.

As for Frank's ridiculous rebuttles, he still is better than all but about 2 Cs to come into the NBA at this point in his career, and he started his career late and as I mentioned a lot his rookie year, came in with massive holes in his defensive game and was more of a finesse player much of the time. People want him to be Shaq but that's not who he is.

Thank you I appreciate it. Just strengthening your words

[ELON121]

Ok Mother Ayton.

Bottom line, the dude is mentally weak. He is immature and until he takes this game seriously, dedicates himself on another level, I doubt will ever reach the vaulted potential he has been labeled with. You can coddle him, theorize why all you want, but he’s on a pathway to underachievement. He’s playing at about 70% of his perceived potential, and at about 50% of his professed potential. (See biggest joke of tattoo)

But you can go ahead and blame it on the lack of crowd support and such.. our boy is soft between the ears as much as on the court. But he’s ‘our boy’.... for now.

Mentally weak? It's all relative... He is sensitive but still an NBA player. It is not easy at all to play and perform game after game, night after night under the huge pressure NBA players have. Mentally weak people don't survive in the NBA. And still, he plays solid and has an impact every game. It is not just stats, you can see it when he plays. When he is confident he can play aggressively and be much efficient. Don't compare him to other players, they weren't first-round picks, Luka wasn't drafted after them, and so on.

I remember how almost all NBA fans gave up on Ingram, Ball, and Russell said they are all busts... Their situation kind of remind me of Ayton's, especially Ingram's. Just like Ayton, nobody questioned their talent or potential but they were inconsistent because of the huge pressure they had in LA and people gave up on them. Looked what happened when they left the Lakers? They all have bloomed. New Orleans fans really regret they didn't sign Ingram last summer before his break out season. Ball has improved a lot and maybe will improve more, and Russell, when he has a good team around him was an Allstar.

Yes, he is still a boy, but people grow up and so is he. Nevertheless, look at Dwight Howard he was very childish and still took Orlando almost alone to the final. Ayton is much more intelligent and 100 times less selfish than him which makes me believe he will grow up faster and be much more mature than that clown who, by the way, at age 35 still has a big impact when he plays. He is one of the reasons Philly so good this year.

The questions are how patient is the team, the fans, and most importantly, the front office, and when the hell things well get back to normal and the arenas will be loud and crowded again.

[Preacherpj]

People should be thrilled with the growth and progress Ayton has made, the bottom line is this team is better with him on the court than off it and we are playing winning basketball partially because of him and certainly not in spite of him.

He's 22 and missed a lot of last year, he's still just a baby.

[sunsbg]

Wish the team sneaked into the playoffs last season. Playing against AD and eventually doing well would have boosted DA's confidence and with more experience maybe the growing up would have come earlier.

[Revived]

He will not get a max contract the way he is playing but I think he will get a nice long term offer from us next summer. Hopefully we can extend him.

I hope James Jones doesn’t overpay him. If he can re-sign him for around $14M/yr at most then do it.

Otherwise they should let him hit RFA and then match whatever deal he gets there. This is the best way to do his contract imo.

There’s not many teams in the league with cap space and a need for a C. Plus Cs aren’t really valued all that much anymore unless your a dynamic offensive player like Embiid or Towns that can create their own shot at high rates or guys like Gobert/Bam that are super elite rim protectors.

[Bogyo]

He will not get a max contract the way he is playing but I think he will get a nice long term offer from us next summer. Hopefully we can extend him.

I hope James Jones doesn’t overpay him. If he can re-sign him for around $14M/yr at most then do it.

Otherwise they should let him hit RFA and then match whatever deal he gets there. This is the best way to do his contract imo.

There’s not many teams in the league with cap space and a need for a C. Plus Cs aren’t really valued all that much anymore unless your a dynamic offensive player like Embiid or Towns that can create their own shot at high rates or guys like Gobert/Bam that are super elite rim protectors.

I wonder what his reaction will be when Bridges lands a larger contract than he does. I think it won't really change him - he will be the same person, will have the same personality, and he will be happy that he reached his goal, plus his earnings will be well over 100 mio by then. Ofcourse he could get mad and come out with a vengance, but that is not him. He could also just relax that he got the bag secured, or pout a bit that he should be paid more - these look more possible with his mindset. But I'd think he'll just be the same guy.

[Saberestar]

He will not get a max contract the way he is playing but I think he will get a nice long term offer from us next summer. Hopefully we can extend him.

I hope James Jones doesn’t overpay him. If he can re-sign him for around $14M/yr at most then do it.

Otherwise they should let him hit RFA and then match whatever deal he gets there. This is the best way to do his contract imo.

There’s not many teams in the league with cap space and a need for a C. Plus Cs aren’t really valued all that much anymore unless your a dynamic offensive player like Embiid or Towns that can create their own shot at high rates or guys like Gobert/Bam that are super elite rim protectors.

$56M/4 years (or $70M/5) would be an absolute steal for his production, I do not think he accepts a low offer like that.

He is already a better C than Valanciunas, Myles Turner and Steven Adams and all of them are getting between $15M and $20M per year.

Personally I would offer him $100M/5 years.

That would be way less than the max and a valuable contract for years to come taking into account his age/upside.

We will see, it will be pretty important his play for the rest of the season and if we finally will go to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.