Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers.
The Portland Trail Blazers are trying to thread the proverbial needle with the remaining high-quality years of Damian Lillard at the helm. Lillard’s heir apparent is youngster Anfernee Simons proved he could handle the job of Blazers’ go-to guy last season. But Dame wants to make another run at a championship in Rip City.
Lillard may be trying to help Portland’s management land some impact talent. He recently liked a tweet suggesting Phoneix’s former first overall pick, Deandre Ayton, take his talents up North.
As of this moment, the starting center for the Portland Trail Blazers is Drew Eubanks. Yuck. Nothing against Eubanks as he played as well as could be expected from a fourth-string NBA player. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic is set to be an unrestricted free agent. So, that means Trail Blazers fans need to realize that Nurkic may not be back next year. Remember his comments after last season’s playoff exit?
Without Nurk, the Portland Trail Blazers will need an upgrade at the center spot. Preferably GM Joe Cronin is looking for a center that can contribute both now and in the future. Lillard is 31, and it remains to be seen how many more years he has at the elite level we’ve all come to watch, enjoy, and expect. Simons is the future, but first, Portland needs to re-sign him.
Dame isn’t done competing for a championship, but he needs help. The Western Conference isn’t easy. And some teams (Denver, Phoenix, LAC, and LAL) didn’t live up to their preseason hype for various reasons, including health but are very talented. Memphis is on the precipice of being a perennial Western Conference force. Also, Golden State isn’t done just yet being the top dog. So, let’s examine Ayton, the Portland Trail Blazers, and how this could work out.
Ayton is a former number 1 overall draft pick for the Phoenix Suns. They chose the almost seven-footer over the likes of Luka Doncic, who just ousted Phoenix, Trae Young, and Jaren Jackson Jr., to name a few. It’s hard not to think how Arizona would look with Doncic or Young were paired with Devin Booker. However, it’s also hard to fault them for taking Ayton with the top pick.
Just search the internet for highlights videos. Ayton will quickly get you excited, and you’ll want him on your team. Some scouts even compared him to Shawn Kemp and Tim Duncan. NBADraft.net has a good scouting report on the young center:
“Generational talent…Already has an NBA ready body, and a physique ideally designed for the game of basketball … Moves exceptionally well for his size … Runs the floor well and really excels in the transition … Plays physical, showing a willingness to bang and seek out contact … He’s capable of reliably hitting open jumpers, even developing a three-point game (34.3% on 1 attempt per game) … Has very good hands … Has good form on his shot, shooting 73.3% from the foul line”
I’d say Ayton has lived up to most of the expectations. For his career, he’s averaging just under 31 minutes per game, shooting just under 60% (59) from the field, 75% from the free-throw line, 10.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.7 steals, one block, and 16.3 points per game. Taking it a step further, his Per 100 possession (which is an estimate of how many points a team does when a particular player is on the floor) shows that Phoenix’s offense rating is 120 and defensive rating is 109.
He’s a true productive double/double player. And his defense is good, too; Ayton was a top 20 center in plus/minus.
So why is it being talked about that Phoenix may not resign, Ayton? Simply put, the big man feels slighted that a contract extension wasn’t worked out with the Suns organization before the beginning of this season. Ayton wanted a rookie max extension for 5-years, $172M.
If the rookie max contract had happened with Ayton, it would be Phoenix’s second. Devin Booker has the other one. That’s a big chunk of cap space tied up on two players. Additionally, after Ayton scored only five points in the Suns’ recent Game 7 blowout loss to Dallas, management isn’t very interested in signing him to a max deal.
What Ayton is asking for isn’t entirely outlandish, especially when looking at some of his 2018 draft colleagues. Doncic signed a 5-year $207M extension. Both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Michael Porter Jr. (MPJ) signed 5-year, $172.5M extensions. Also, Jaren Jackson Jr. (JJJ) signed a 4-year $104.72M deal.
Is Ayton on the same level as Doncic? Probably not, but Ayton’s asking price isn’t that egregious compared to JJJ, SGA, and MPJ, who have all missed time with injuries over their young careers.
Oh, and Ayton’s teammate, Mikal Bridges, another member of the 2018 draft class, received a 4-year, $90M contract extension. If Phoenix wants to continue to contend in the west, it’s reasonable to think they would keep Ayton.
Let’s not forget that during Phoenix’s run to the finals last season, Ayton averaged 15.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.1 in both assists and blocks, and .8 steals while shooting 66% from the field and 74% from the charity stripe in 36 minutes per game.
By the time next season starts, Ayton will be 24-years old. He would be a perfect fit for the Portland Trail Blazers. They need to build a contender now for Dame, but with a young center, the Blazers can sustain long-term success. Ayton can be a younger and better center than Portland’s with Nurkic. Ayton would be the best big man Portland has had since LaMarcus Aldridge.
Getting Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers is tricky. Many teams will be in the market to offer him a max contract. Also, Phoenix will be able to match any offer on Ayton. So, it’s not like he will go to the highest bidder. What is most likely to happen if it becomes evident that Ayton doesn’t want to be in Phoenix any longer is a sign and trade.
In pursuing this avenue, the Portland Trail Blazers will likely have to sign Nurkic to a deal that Phoenix is comfortable with and then trade him along with someone or thing else. The piece that might have the most value to both teams is Portland’s number seven overall draft pick.
However, the Portland Trail Blazers need to keep an eye on their future as well. Giving up their lottery pick to get Ayton might be too much, in their opinion. Would the Suns be interested in a future first? Cronin has to explore that avenue.
Ayton has another layer he can unlock, which is the ability to shoot threes. With his good shooting percentage from the free-throw line, it’s logical to think he can develop a jump shot that is at least decent from the three-point range.
Getting Ayton is a move that the Portland Trail Blazers need to consider seriously.
Do you think the Portland Trail Blazers need to go all out for Deandre Ayton? Let us know in the comments section below.