Ayton’s facade is that he is working hard. What he isn’t aware of that we know he is full of shit in regards to his work ethic when it comes to training like elite nba players do. He knows how to say the things but it’s a cover. Negative consequences and accountability shit doesn’t intrinsically motivate him and he doesn’t have the personality to always navigate when people are pissed with him or disappointed. Vogel is taking a clear positive psychology stance here. The best we got from Ayton was when he was dead serious about earning his max contract and was locked into the playoffs.
You better believe Ishbia, JJ, and Vogel are straight up talking about Ayton more than we do on this board. Ain’t no fucking reminder or alarm for him to get on the treadmill. They’re figuring shit out fast.
The thing is, even if Ayton starts playing hard twice as often as he did last season, he still dependent on other guys to set him up on offense. Unless the new coaching staff has lit a fire under him to actually get in the gym and work on expanding his game, I don't see that shortcoming ever really changing.
He'll need to show a pretty significant jump in defensive ability for me to be satisfied with his salary, and I suppose there's a small chance Vogel and his staff can salvage his value if they coach him up on that end. Then again, defense mostly comes down to effort and instincts...
They will literally need him working on his game now. It ain’t happening over training camp or him doing one or two week ramp up in LA. Ayton needs to be developing a better handle, counters to his hook- his offensive game is straight up Windows 98 now. He’s way overdue for an update.
Vogel is taking a clear positive psychology stance here. The best we got from Ayton was when he was dead serious about earning his max contract and was locked into the playoffs. You better believe Ishbia, JJ, and Vogel are straight up talking about Ayton more than we do on this board. Ain’t no fucking reminder or alarm for him to get on the treadmill. They’re figuring shit out fast.
Nothing has changed so far. Monty took the same approach with Ayton in the media. None of us know what happened behind closed doors.
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Vogel is taking a clear positive psychology stance here. The best we got from Ayton was when he was dead serious about earning his max contract and was locked into the playoffs. You better believe Ishbia, JJ, and Vogel are straight up talking about Ayton more than we do on this board. Ain’t no fucking reminder or alarm for him to get on the treadmill. They’re figuring shit out fast.
Nothing has changed so far. Monty took the same approach with Ayton in the media. None of us know what happened behind closed doors.
Monty pulled some boomer patriarchal move on Ayton and it backfired. He didn’t talk to Ayton over the summer and didn’t show up for his Max payday. That’s a massive fuck you. He withdrew public approval and warm regard for Ayton. Pretty clear. Monty embarrassed himself and it painted an ugly picture. Now Ayton is responsible for his end- I have a hard time feeling positive about Ayton, believe me. But Monty was in charge of the coaching and motivating and managing the egos. And he fucked up —at least in regards of to that summer. Perhaps he may have sewed some things up or did the best he could over the season. But that is a decision i bet anything he will never make again as a HC.
Vogel is taking a clear positive psychology stance here. The best we got from Ayton was when he was dead serious about earning his max contract and was locked into the playoffs. You better believe Ishbia, JJ, and Vogel are straight up talking about Ayton more than we do on this board. Ain’t no fucking reminder or alarm for him to get on the treadmill. They’re figuring shit out fast.
Nothing has changed so far. Monty took the same approach with Ayton in the media. None of us know what happened behind closed doors.
Monty pulled some boomer patriarchal move on Ayton and it backfired. He didn’t talk to Ayton over the summer and didn’t show up for his Max payday. That’s a massive fuck you. He withdrew public approval and warm regard for Ayton. Pretty clear. Monty embarrassed himself and it painted an ugly picture. Now Ayton is responsible for his end- I have a hard time feeling positive about Ayton, believe me. But Monty was in charge of the coaching and motivating and managing the egos. And he fucked up —at least in regards of to that summer. Perhaps he may have sewed some things up or did the best he could over the season. But that is a decision i bet anything he will never make again as a HC.
Yeah, he definitely made some mistakes in terms of managing the egos. I'm not sure we ever got to the bottom of the Crowder dispute, but in hindsight I don't think Monty's decision to move Cam Johnson into the starting lineup in place of Crowder really worked out for anyone. We lost some toughness, 3pt shooting and a teammate who seemed to be tight with both Book and CP3. He was also one of the few who turned up in the Dallas series.
I don't like the way Crowder sat out and pouted, but in hindsight I don't think all of the blame should be lumped on him. Monty played his part for sure.
Monty tried for 2 years propping Ayton up. He didn't call him out, he called up him. He treated him with kids gloves, showed him how to work, used positive reinforcement and DA still f-ked around and half assed it. At some point, you gotta treat guys like grown ups and hold them accountable. It's exhausting to have to keep catering to one guy while everyone else is working at another level. I'm sure it bothered Monty that DA was not only brought back but rewarded with max money after seeing what DA was about for 3 years. I'm sure that played into his firing, along with the Jae stuff. It's always easier to get rid of a coach than a max player. Doesn't mean he was wrong tho.
From what I've read of Vogel, he's not going to challenge DA. Maybe that'll work, maybe he'll leave it to his assistants. But I'm not holding my breath that DA will flip a switch. You either got it or you don't. And I hope we don't force him the ball at the cost of others on the team just to keep him happy and engaged.
And there's no "working on his game". He's not going to become KAT or Giannis in an offseason. He doesn't have those skills. All he knows is hookshot or fadeaway.
Monty tried for 2 years propping Ayton up. He didn't call him out, he called up him. He treated him with kids gloves, showed him how to work, used positive reinforcement and DA still f-ked around and half assed it. At some point, you gotta treat guys like grown ups and hold them accountable. It's exhausting to have to keep catering to one guy while everyone else is working at another level. I'm sure it bothered Monty that DA was not only brought back but rewarded with max money after seeing what DA was about for 3 years. I'm sure that played into his firing, along with the Jae stuff. It's always easier to get rid of a coach than a max player. Doesn't mean he was wrong tho.
From what I've read of Vogel, he's not going to challenge DA. Maybe that'll work, maybe he'll leave it to his assistants. But I'm not holding my breath that DA will flip a switch. You either got it or you don't. And I hope we don't force him the ball at the cost of others on the team just to keep him happy and engaged.
And there's no "working on his game". He's not going to become KAT or Giannis in an offseason. He doesn't have those skills. All he knows is hookshot or fadeaway.
Ayton doesn’t work on his game. He is frozen because of his poor work ethic growing his game. He does the minimum. Ayton has the ability to grow his talent. There’s no reason he couldn’t model his game after Lamarcus Aldridge if he doesn’t want to be a big man. Anyway, it just smacks of a B-/C+ competitor with tremendous athletic ability. We’ve honestly only seen one significant stretch of basketball from him and it was two years ago.
Maybe Vogel is just hyping up Ayton’s trade value. Maybe Vogel wants Ayton. They will see what calls we get.
