Ayton Possible 25 Game Suspension

[Phoenix219]

If anyone was ever tailor made for the Suns systems and gifted to us the one year we finally got the #1 pick.....


It was a no brainer. Fate laid us a path and we whiffed, hard.

[Flagrant Fowl]

My main point way back before that draft was that Doncic is a built-in offensive system, and at that time the Suns lacked any semblance of an identity on or off the court. Doncic is a culture changing player and I've always believed Ayton is not. We had to endure a miserable fucking season last year primarily due to a lack of culture and identity from the top to the bottom in the whole organization. Thankfully, James Jones and Monty Williams seem to have fixed that, so Ayton over Doncic stings a little less than it did 8 months ago.

The way I see it, Doncic will always be the "better" player, and I put that in quotations because he's always going to get more media attention. For one, he's a unicorn type of player who's built like a forward but plays like a point guard. Call it Magic Johnson-itis. But also because big men in the league just don't get the same amount of attention as guards, just compare the types of players who get big shoe endorsements as an example of this.

But below the surface level highlights and counting stats, Ayton can be the better player for this version of the Suns. I still have my doubts that he'll get there. Hell, I posited the idea of trading him sometime in the next 12 months a week before the season started. IF he can figure it out, I think the Suns will be better balanced and in a better position to win a title.

(None of this is to say I wouldn't switch Ayton for Doncic today if I could.)

[virtual9mm]

What I wanted that year was to trade everyone not named Booker and the #1 pick for the #3 pick. Maybe it would have worked out, maybe not. But Josh Jackson still had some value and the Suns still had picks. Throw in future unprotected picks...

[virtual9mm]

That being said, does picking Olajuwon #1 make that pick a mistake? Because I fully expect Ayton to reach Patrick Ewing levels at least.

[Superbone]

That being said, does picking Olajuwon #1 make that pick a mistake? Because I fully expect Ayton to reach Patrick Ewing levels at least.

As long as we win a championship, I'll be happy.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Hey, let’s talk about Joe Johnson while we are at it.

I’m still not sure, if we should have paid those $5 extra millions... look at guy... he is out of the league!!!

We are having a hell of a great start folks, how about focusing onTHE PRESENT for a change???? If the team implodes, we can always go back to torture ourselves with plenty of “What if” to spare, including fresh “what if Ayton would have been available all season long...”

[Indy]

18 pts, 58%
11 rbs
4 blocks
2 fouls

In his only game this season. Works for me.

Agreed. If he averages that for his career, I won't complain.

[SunsRIt]

I’m still on the Ayton train. In 3 years he will be a monster.

[In2ition]

18 pts, 58%
11 rbs
4 blocks
2 fouls

In his only game this season. Works for me.

Agreed. If he averages that for his career, I won't complain.

Sure, that's pretty darn good. To be honest though, I expect those numbers to be even better this year, with exception of the blocks. I'm thinking he's going to average around 20 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 bpg, 3 apg on 60% shooting when he gets back.

[Indy]

18 pts, 58%
11 rbs
4 blocks
2 fouls

In his only game this season. Works for me.

Agreed. If he averages that for his career, I won't complain.

Sure, that's pretty darn good. To be honest though, I expect those numbers to be even better this year, with exception of the blocks. I'm thinking he's going to average around 20 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 bpg, 3 apg on 60% shooting when he gets back.

The blocks are the one I care most about. I think he could easily average 20/12 on very high shooting percentages without getting much better than he is today. The blocks show he is a defensive presence that can make a difference in our games. I would gladly give back 3-4 ppg and a couple rpg if it meant 4 blocks.

[In2ition]

18 pts, 58%
11 rbs
4 blocks
2 fouls

In his only game this season. Works for me.

Agreed. If he averages that for his career, I won't complain.

Sure, that's pretty darn good. To be honest though, I expect those numbers to be even better this year, with exception of the blocks. I'm thinking he's going to average around 20 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 bpg, 3 apg on 60% shooting when he gets back.

The blocks are the one I care most about. I think he could easily average 20/12 on very high shooting percentages without getting much better than he is today. The blocks show he is a defensive presence that can make a difference in our games. I would gladly give back 3-4 ppg and a couple rpg if it meant 4 blocks.

Honestly, I would too. I do think he improves on his blocked shots, but it's hard to imagine him getting 4 per game. I think early on though when he gets back, teams will challenge him at the rim, using last year's scouting report and he could end up having some really big games in blocks. Eventually, they will realize that he's a threat and stop challenging him as much, which helps out the defense too. I need to stop...I'm getting ahead of myself.

[BookTheGoat]

Hey, it's not like anybody could have predicted Luka would be really good. I mean if we had, say, been able to see him completely dominate a professional league for an entire season before he went into the NBA draft, that'd be one thing. But we can't be psychic, y'know? And it's not like we really needed a player like him. We already had great players running our offense in Isaiah Canaan and Shaq Harrison.

Stop Mori, I’m already dead.

[JeremyG]

18 pts, 58%
11 rbs
4 blocks
2 fouls

In his only game this season. Works for me.

Agreed. If he averages that for his career, I won't complain.

Lol, that's not fair. No player has ever averaged 4 blocks for their career (with the possible exception of guys like Russell and Wilt before they kept track of blocks),

[Ring_Wanted]

Can't wait until we have Ayton again. He is not The Don, but since Baynes has been such a monster so far, I am dying to try Ayton-Baynes together. I am very interested in seeing these two dynamics on offense: a) Baynes outside-inside with Ayton in the post vs PFs; b) double screen for Booker/Rubio, where typically Baynes goes pick and pop and Ayton rolls. On defense, Baynes is the rim protector and Ayton the switching big.

[Cap]

18 pts, 58%
11 rbs
4 blocks
2 fouls

In his only game this season. Works for me.

Agreed. If he averages that for his career, I won't complain.

Lol, that's not fair. No player has ever averaged 4 blocks for their career (with the possible exception of guys like Russell and Wilt before they kept track of blocks),

Ayton in elite company.

Code: Select all

For single seasons; played in the NBA/BAA; in the regular season;
requiring Blocks Per Game >= 4;
sorted by most seasons matching criteria 

Rk                Player From   To  Tm  Lg Count
1             Mark Eaton 1984 1987 UTA NBA     4
2        Hakeem Olajuwon 1990 1993 HOU NBA     3
3             Manute Bol 1986 1989 TOT NBA     2
4        Dikembe Mutombo 1994 1996 DEN NBA     2
5    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1976 1976 LAL NBA     1
6          Deandre Ayton 2020 2020 PHO NBA     1
7         David Robinson 1992 1992 SAS NBA     1
8           Tree Rollins 1983 1983 ATL NBA     1
9           Elmore Smith 1974 1974 LAL NBA     1

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/16/2019.

[Nodack]

Whatever his stats, we need two centers, not one.