The Strengths, Weaknesses, and Frustrations of Deandre Ayton

Deandre Ayton was the centerpiece return for thePortland Trail Blazersas they moved franchise superstar Damian Lillard to theMilwaukee Buckslast week. Along with rookie guard Scoot Henderson, Ayton gives the Blazers their best hope for immediate improvement.

Once the trade went down, we got into contact with Dave King ofBright Side of the Sun, our sister site covering thePhoenix Sunsfor the SBNation NBA network. King and his colleagues have watched Ayton for his entire five-year career. We asked for the scoop on Portland’s newest center. Here’s how they replied.

Blazer’s Edge: What will Blazers fans love about Deandre Ayton?

Dave King:Dude is highly talented. He’s going to be a lot more available than Nurkic has been the last few years. You’ll appreciate that he’s got all the tools and talents to deliver 18/10 in his sleep while providing tantalizing defensive plays, with a top end of 30/20 with 3 blocks and lock-down defense on a good night. You can totally see him being a top 5 center in the NBA, and he’ll play like it more often than not. He’s also quite refreshing in interviews because he gives real honest answers to questions, not just regurgitation of platitudes.

BE: What will Blazers fans hate about Deandre Ayton?

DK:He won’t draw free throws. He won’t dunk the ball often enough. He won’t catch alley-oops unless he’s standing right there, jumping with two feet and no defender around. And he won’t make any nifty passes. His great nights don’t happen quite often enough. While he’s a walking double double, he too often leaves a lot of ‘meat on the table’ so to speak. He’s not as aggressive as he could be, and doesn’t take games into his own hands. He goes to a lot of trouble to avoid contact when he’s got the ball in his hands and doesn’t see the floor well enough to pass the ball off when he’s covered. He loves to catch the ball with his back to the basket at 10-15 feet with the defender behind him, but almost always only has two outcomes — turnaround jumper, or weak pass back out to reset the offense. If you can get him catching on the move, rolling to the basket on the catch, a good shot attempt will almost always happen (just don’t expect free throws or any nifty pass to a cutter).

BE: At his best, can Ayton be a core member of the next Blazers contender?

DK:Sure! He’s already been the 3^rdbest player on a Finals team at the young age of 22. Even Chris Paul called him the team’s playoff MVP in the first three rounds of the 2021 playoffs. In those playoffs, he was trusted to single-cover Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo and did so effectively. And when they played the Clippers, he was never ‘played off the floor’ because he showed the ability to defend in space. Even skeptics thought he’d make an All-Defense team one day soon. Ayton operates great when he feels deeply supported by his teammates and coach. It’s when he doesn’t feel supported is when he simply shows up and waits for the game to end.

Thanks to Dave for the insight! You can find ourcorresponding post on Bright Side of the Sun here.