Ayton Thread Update: Signs with Lakers

[rondohondo]

Sources: Deandre Ayton?s contract buyout with Portland forfeited $10 million of his $35.6 million 2025-26 salary.

So he took a buyout to go to a winning situation. If he signed a vet min contract with Boston for 1 year, what would they be able to offer him next year?

I know it seems like a long shot , but he would be a great fit with the J's for the last 5 years of their contending.


Pp
White
Jb
Tatum
Ayton

[slightly biased bias fan]

Sorry but he is not a fit anywhere, Ayton is a lazy head case.

Think a combination of DeMarcus Cousins & late career Dwight Howard. At 26 years old, Portland paid him to go away, that is how much of a virus he has become.

[rondohondo]

He is a 26 year old walking double double for his career.  I am not saying he is an all nba player, but he would get a ton of easy looks once Tatum comes back. He is at least a presence at the rim and automatically becomes the c's best big.

Not saying to sign him to some crazy contract , but if he wants to prove himself in a winning situation, why not here?

We are in a much better spot than the Lakers moving forward, with more assets and youth on our roster, and a longer window IMO.

Move Simons and others to open up cap space?

[slightly biased bias fan]

He is a 26 year old walking double double for his career.  I am not saying he is an all nba player, but he would get a ton of easy looks once Tatum comes back. He is at least a presence at the rim and automatically becomes the case best big.

Not saying to sign him to some crazy contract , but if he wants to prove himself in a winning situation, why not here?

We are in a much better spot than the Lakers moving forward, with more assets and youth on our roster, and a longer window IMO.

Move Simons and others to open up cap space?

It is hard to describe unless you have watched Ayton play a full game, but you cannot have him around.

Imagine a centre who when he tries is as dominant as anyone in the league but he almost never tries and you cannot attempt to motivate him because he responds negatively to any criticism.

Imagine a centre that is 7-1 but hates contact and refuses to protect the rim. If there is a fast break for the other team he rarely sprints back and refuses rush out to shooters on a switch.

If you do not feed him on offence he will sulk. If you bench Ayton he will sulk even more.

Even on a rebuilding team Ayton would kill the hard working mentally that the Celtics have cultivated.

https://youtu.be/pMgSJxBaBNU?feature=shared

[DefenseWinsChamps]

He is a 26 year old walking double double for his career.  I am not saying he is an all nba player, but he would get a ton of easy looks once Tatum comes back. He is at least a presence at the rim and automatically becomes the case best big.

Not saying to sign him to some crazy contract , but if he wants to prove himself in a winning situation, why not here?

We are in a much better spot than the Lakers moving forward, with more assets and youth on our roster, and a longer window IMO.

Move Simons and others to open up cap space?

It is hard to describe unless you have watched Ayton play a full game, but you cannot have him around.

Imagine a centre who when he tries is as dominant as anyone in the league but he almost never tries and you cannot attempt to motivate him because he responds negatively to any criticism.

Imagine a centre that is 7-1 but hates contact and refuses to protect the rim. If there is a fast break for the other team he rarely sprints back and refuses rush out to shooters on a switch.

If you do not feed him on offence he will sulk. If you bench Ayton he will sulk even more.

Even on a rebuilding team Ayton would kill the hard working mentally that the Celtics have cultivated.

https://youtu.be/pMgSJxBaBNU?feature=shared

Think Andrew Bynum

[SparzWizard]

He is a 26 year old walking double double for his career.  I am not saying he is an all nba player, but he would get a ton of easy looks once Tatum comes back. He is at least a presence at the rim and automatically becomes the case best big.

Not saying to sign him to some crazy contract , but if he wants to prove himself in a winning situation, why not here?

We are in a much better spot than the Lakers moving forward, with more assets and youth on our roster, and a longer window IMO.

Move Simons and others to open up cap space?

It is hard to describe unless you have watched Ayton play a full game, but you cannot have him around.

Imagine a centre who when he tries is as dominant as anyone in the league but he almost never tries and you cannot attempt to motivate him because he responds negatively to any criticism.

Imagine a centre that is 7-1 but hates contact and refuses to protect the rim. If there is a fast break for the other team he rarely sprints back and refuses rush out to shooters on a switch.

If you do not feed him on offence he will sulk. If you bench Ayton he will sulk even more.

Even on a rebuilding team Ayton would kill the hard working mentally that the Celtics have cultivated.

https://youtu.be/pMgSJxBaBNU?feature=shared

Think Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum got 'em two rings. Sometimes you just need guys who will swing elbows and can dominate inside

[Who]

I am a fan of Ayton's. Guy is a good player.

He was very good in that Suns run to the Finals. Even after that run, even though he dropped off some, he was still a good player who was helping that team. You can see how much they have missed him since he has gone.

They thought Nurkic could do what Ayton did. No chance. It was a disaster. They thought Mason Plumlee could do it. Nope. They thought Nick Richards could do it. What a clown show that became. If Phoenix had of just kept Ayton instead of getting in a huff with him, they would have been a title contender with Durant.

Most of the criticism of Ayton comes from folks expecting him to be a great player and being unhappy that he is just a good to very good player. Then another level of criticism towards him for what they feel is a lack of effort on his part.

Yeah, both are fair criticisms. Although the first one needs to be discarded. It doesn't matter whether you were the #1 pick or the #30 pick at this point in his career. It is just what can you do now. The 2nd criticism is more on point. However, it often focuses so much on the negative that ignores the positives Ayton still brings to the table. The Phoenix Suns did this and lost a quality starting center who they couldn't replace and ended up sabotaging their Big 3 with Durant, Booker and Beal as a result.

Ayton is still a good player who can help teams. I'd be delighted to have him here on Boston. Especially given how small that contract is likely to be. Anything at the MLE or under is a steal.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

This will not be a winning team this year.

[Who]

Sources: Deandre Ayton?s contract buyout with Portland forfeited $10 million of his $35.6 million 2025-26 salary.

That is a great deal for Portland. I had not realized Ayton gave up so much money. Now it makes more sense why they bought him out rather than traded him. His trade value was so low (at $35mil) he wouldn't have brought back anything better than that $10mil in savings.

[lbgreen33]

Funny thing is, people go crazy at how little defense Ayton played on Portland, they say the same thing about Simons. Doesn't anyone agree that that has a Lot to do with coaching! There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff. That is all I have been trying to say about Simons, I would love to keep him and see what the defense first mentality can do for his game.

[Big333223]

He seems unmotivated. That's a huge red-flag.

But he also seems like he's never been in a good situation for him and he obviously has a ton of talent.

If this season is going to be a gap year, anyway, maybe it's worth bringing him in and seeing what Joe can get out of him. If it doesn't work out, nothing is really lost. It it did work out, it could be the best way to get a really talented center in the building.

[Ilikesports17]

Funny thing is, people go crazy at how little defense Ayton played on Portland, they say the same thing about Simons. Doesn't anyone agree that that has a Lot to do with coaching! There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff. That is all I have been trying to say about Simons, I would love to keep him and see what the defense first mentality can do for his game.

"There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff"

Do not agree at all.

[tonydelk]

Funny thing is, people go crazy at how little defense Ayton played on Portland, they say the same thing about Simons. Doesn't anyone agree that that has a Lot to do with coaching! There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff. That is all I have been trying to say about Simons, I would love to keep him and see what the defense first mentality can do for his game.

"There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff"

Do not agree at all.

Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers had a top 5 defense in the second half of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Specifically, over the final 41 games of the season, their defensive rating (110.0) ranked third in the league. They also finished second in opponent three-point percentage during this period (.340). Coach Chauncey Billups' adjustments, including challenging Shaedon Sharpe to improve defensively, contributed to this defensive turnaround.

[keevsnick]

Funny thing is, people go crazy at how little defense Ayton played on Portland, they say the same thing about Simons. Doesn't anyone agree that that has a Lot to do with coaching! There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff. That is all I have been trying to say about Simons, I would love to keep him and see what the defense first mentality can do for his game.

"There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff"

Do not agree at all.

Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers had a top 5 defense in the second half of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Specifically, over the final 41 games of the season, their defensive rating (110.0) ranked third in the league. They also finished second in opponent three-point percentage during this period (.340). Coach Chauncey Billups' adjustments, including challenging Shaedon Sharpe to improve defensively, contributed to this defensive turnaround.

What that tells me is a lot of their success may very well have just been opponent three point luck.

[tonydelk]

Funny thing is, people go crazy at how little defense Ayton played on Portland, they say the same thing about Simons. Doesn't anyone agree that that has a Lot to do with coaching! There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff. That is all I have been trying to say about Simons, I would love to keep him and see what the defense first mentality can do for his game.

"There seemed to be little emphasis placed on defense by the Portland Coaching staff"

Do not agree at all.

Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers had a top 5 defense in the second half of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Specifically, over the final 41 games of the season, their defensive rating (110.0) ranked third in the league. They also finished second in opponent three-point percentage during this period (.340). Coach Chauncey Billups' adjustments, including challenging Shaedon Sharpe to improve defensively, contributed to this defensive turnaround.

What that tells me is a lot of their success may very well have just been opponent three point luck.

41 Games Lucky???  It tells me that their coaching got the players to buy in.