A ton of regrets and a ton of hopes. That’s two tons. Two tons of reasons to talk about Deandre Ayton. For good, for bad, in Arizona and now in Oregon. This Wednesday, the Suns took part in the trade between Bucks and Blazers allowing the former to recover Damian Lillard. The Cactus did not hesitate to play facilitators by sending their Bahamian pivot to Portland while the compensation obtained is far from dreaming. Why this choice on the Phoenix side? Will Rip City, which has been setting the transfer market on fire for several days, be the scene of Ayton’s real takeoff?
Regrets
Five years after choosing him as the first choice in the 2018 Draft, the Suns made another choice: that of parting with their interior. The fact that the counterpart is, as indicated in the introduction, weak is not such a big surprise even if it is disappointing for Suns fans. Above all, it is a sign that the Cactus front office really did not want to have Ayton among them at the start. A new wind has been blowing through Phoenix for several months, a tornado called Ishbia. Monty Williams left, Chris Paul too and friend Deandre was no longer in the managers’ plans. This was the case since the hasty end of the Suns’ journey during the 2022 Playoffs. The road exit in the conference semi-final against the Mavs is not at all attributable to Ayton alone, far from it. But it was a big talking point in Phoenix in the weeks and months that followed. His almost non-existent relationship with coach Monty, his preference for video games to the detriment of rest, his soft side during certain phases of play, his apparent lack of motivation… Ayton has endured a fair amount of criticism, most of it coming from Arizona. It’s a safe bet that he would never have obtained such a big contract extension from the Suns if the Pacers had not come to submit their contract offer in July 2022. An extension which was accompanied by a impossibility for Phoenix to include its pivot in an exchange before the following January 15. A way of postponing the inevitable crumbling of a relationship that has continued to deteriorate over the past two years.
At the last trade deadline, the Suns stood out on the transfer market but not around Ayton. Kevin Durant has arrived in town. The experiment did not produce the expected results. At least not for the moment. The 2023 Playoffs showed that the Cactus were not ready, that they still needed time and real team balance to be able to compete with the best, the Nuggets in this case. When the Suns won Game 3 of the series against the future world champions of the United States, one fact caught the attention of all observers beyond Devin Booker’s 47 points: Ayton was on the bench in the moneytime! This episode, followed by the elimination of the Suns, was clearly the point of no return for both the player and the Arizona franchise.
Because, far from stopping there (so good?), Phoenix management continued its recruitment work. In June, Bradley Beal was picked up in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and a handful of draft assets. The squad then seemed far too tight in terms of depth to hope for anything despite the talent displayed by the new player. Never mind that the front office spent the month of July signing a boatload of players to minimum contracts. Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, Damion Lee, Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe, Bol Bol… We can talk about maximizing one’s minimums. But a move was still in the pipeline.
The idea for the Suns was now to use Ayton’s contract as an asset capable of bringing back several players in exchange in order to thicken the rotation around the Booker – Durant – Beal trio. It’s done ! Apparently the Suns had been in agreement for a while to send Ayton to Portland for Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson. They just needed one more nice piece in the deal. When the Bucks put Grayson Allen on the table, the operation was quickly validated. Four players against one player. Numerically, this is the type of transfer that the Suns were looking for even if we doubt that these four players will be useful to Phoenix. This is where the disappointment comes from for Suns fans, this feeling of losing talent. Not a sensation, moreover, a certainty. The Suns needed something else. They will later look for the defensive organization around Jusuf Nurkic. Deandre Ayton also needed something else that the Blazers think they can provide him: the right framework for a new start.
Hope
The hope that Ayton aroused at one point in the Suns is undoubtedly the one that animates the Blazers as they welcome their new pivot and build after Lillard. In the exchange with the Bucks and the Suns, Portland also received Jrue Holiday but the 2021 NBA champion did not have time to visit Oregon since he quickly headed to Boston while Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon and draft towers were going the opposite way. Brogdon should not remain from what we understand. The Blazers want to trust and give maximum space to their trio of young guards: Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson. On the interior side, the arrival of Robert Williams will strengthen a rotation which should be made up of three between the ex Celtic, Jerami and Deandre Ayton. The latter does not have too much to worry about his playing time given his qualities and the regularity with which he is capable of producing on both sides of the field. He represents a guaranteed double-double points/rebounds once he has laced up his sneakers. He’s worth at least 16 or 17 points and 10 rebounds on average every night if we let him frolic on the floor for around thirty minutes. He also came out of a regular season of 67 games averaging 18 points at 59% shooting accompanied by 10 rebounds. Normally, the transfer by a title contender of such a player is very big news. In this case, this was (logically) relegated to the background, Lillard’s announcement to the Bucks monopolizing all the spotlight.
Given his rather discreet character, Deandre Ayton surely prefers this situation. He arrived quietly yesterday in Portland where he was greeted by Joe Cronin and several of his new partners. In Phoenix, the Suns needed Ayton to offer less than his talent could allow him to bring. In the upcoming season, he would have been the fourth offensive option behind Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant. In Portland, Ayton will be used much more offensively even though there are already several players who also need to express themselves offensively. Simons has shown for 18 months, Sharpe was a dream at the end of last season and Scoot has just been drafted in third position. These three backs, the three Ss, will have to find a way to exploit the palette of their pivot. If they do, they won’t regret it. It is also and above all a challenge that falls to Chauncey Billups and his staff: finding the right balance to see all these talents flourish.
The Blazers will take a new look at Ayton. They think they have recovered one of the best centers in the league. On paper, it’s undeniable. It’s up to them to ensure that this is the case on the field by putting Ayton in the right conditions, mainly mental. If they succeed and Deandre can finally realize his full potential and dominate, the Blazers will have achieved a very big blow after losing one of the best players in their history. Defensively, Ayton can become the pillar the Blazers need. His length, his appetite for rebounds, his sense of positioning, his mobility make him a pivot among the best in defense in the current league while being an effective attacker near the circle, at mid-distance and on the free throw. How many pivots can boast of being clearly better than a Deandre Ayton who would be comfortable in his own skin? The trio of Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo of course, but then? Domantas Sabonis? Yes, Kings fans will tell us and we understand them. The last Playoffs and the defensive level of the Lithuanian may authorize those of the Blazers to ask the question. Rudy Gobert? Not on attack yet. Kristaps Porzingis? Is he a pivot? Brook Lopez? Maybe, but he’s 10 years older. Jarrett Allen? Mitchell Robinson?
Hope is high for both the player and the franchise. This is what will make this new adventure even more exciting to follow. Youth, talent, hope and a new start: Deandre Ayton will be an integral part of an exciting project with the Blazers. A project of which it can become one of the keys, the real pivot point…
2023-10-01 19:37:00
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