Goal for the 2023-24 season - Make Ayton an All Star

Dame acheived a career-high True Shooting Percentage of 64.5% last season.

Deandre Ayton has already exceeded that twice, in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

His 61.7% for 2022-23 isn't anything to sniff at either. It would have exceeded everyone but Lillard for Trail Blazer starters last season.



I think for 2023-24 the Blazer have a lot of general goals with non-specific outcomes, such as get Sharpe and Scoot playing time and develop chemistry.

One specific and important goal should be to try to make Ayton an All Star.

Now is the chance to give him the ball as much as possible and see what Ayton's ceiling is where he is the #1 option on offense when he is in the game.

Billups makes the deal with DA: We want to make you an All Star. We're going to feed you the ball , but you have to be locked in on defense all the time. That doesn't mean he has to be perfect of course. He'll have the positive reinforcement of his teammates and coach.

Lauri Markannen, the same age as Ayton now when he began last season, made the All Star squad on a 37-win team with 25.6 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game and a TS% of 64%. Ayton seems very capable of that.

(stats for Ayton)



It would be a huge achievement for the entire Blazer team and coaching staff, and of course for Ayton.
The Blazers could have a Utah-Jazz like season and be considered one of the best young teams in the league.

Edit: the Real Goal isn't for Ayton to make the All Star team, though that would be nice. The Real Goal is to find Ayton's potential and make him a featured player on offense, and make it clear to him that he's important.

 

I’m excited for the team to ignite Ayton’s career finally; he seems like a great prospect still, with capacity to really take off under the right system.

 

And to add, a consistent PER of 20 is nothing to sneeze at!

 

RW3 has a career PER of 22.3 and had a peak at 25.7 a few yrs ago.

Very good but the stat is inflated for centers because of the lower TO% and TS%.

 

I mostly prize the consistency; a flashier but less stable PER is more worrisome to me. Agreed about centers feasting on PER due to lower usage.

 

I just don't see it as possible

it's pretty unlikely 3 C's are named all-stars. Meaning there would very likely only be two named

Jokic, AD, Sabonis, KAT, Kessler, Wemby. Pretty hard to see Ayton jumping over 5 of those guys, especially if the Blazers are well under the .500 mark. And,
Blazers are already telegraphing they want Ant to be the number one option

by the way, comparing TS% between a guard and a C, is a bit apples/oranges. And there was only one C (Embiid) in the top-34 players in FGA; and only two (Embiid-Porzingis) in the top 40. Assuming Ayton's efficiency doesn't drop with higher usage, 16 FGA/game puts him at 22 points; 18 FGA/game puts him at 24-25. I have a real hard time seeing him get 18 shots a game with Ant, Grant, Scoot, Brogdon, and Sharpe

 

Definitely possible but we’d need a good record to get the final nod

 

Getting the shots - yes, that's why it would need to be a specific goal.

And making the All Star team really isn't the goal. It's just the goal stated to Ayton - you play hard on defense and we'll get you the ball on offense.

The real goal is to get the most out of Ayton.

 

Possible isn't the point. It's a goal with specific requirements, such as Ayton getting enough shots and points to be considered a possible All Star.

 

If we are going to have an AS this year, I would much rather have Ant be that AS.

Ant as an AS and 2 years left on his deal is going to bring back a good deal. I also don’t see DA making it unless we are competing. Jokic and AD are locks when they play enough games, and the only way DA beats out Sabonis is if he averages 25/10 or if we are in the top 8.

Ant as the #1 option could increase his scoring to being among the top 10 scorers this year. Dame is no longer in the conference, and Ja will not be playing enough games. If Curry misses a long stretch of games, the only lock may be Doncic, Fox, and SGA. It might be wide open for guys like Ant or Murray to make the team over Kyrie if the Mavs don’t fix their defense and our records are similar.

 

A realistic “your company’s career goals worksheet” version is All Star Game by 2025, with effort being made immediately because a 2024 ASG appearance would be the stretch goal with kudos attached.

 

so, Ayton, at 22-11-2 on a team 10 games under .500 will beat out 3-time all-star Sabonis, at 19-12-7 on a team 10 games over .500? When it's the coaches voting? I'd think Ayton would have to be a monster at something like 25-14, and the Blazers would have to be close to .500. It's possible I guess but seems pretty improbable

 

recent All-Star player(s) in Portland would prohibit legal tanking under the new CBA. Potential All-Star is a better description moving forward through this rebuild.

Now we sometimes hear folks say the 2024 draft isn't loaded with talent like previous years. Is that idea coming from teams that don't own a 1st, or will draft very late ??

Fan perspective can change very quickly if the Blazers are eyeballing another top 6 pick. Excitement and mock drafts could very easily become the talk of the town near the end of next season.

The Blazers have the opportunity to press the rookie fever button with 2 FRP's. "Imagine this kid and this kid doing X,Y,Z with Scoot & Shaedon!"

 

I want Ayton to lead the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots

 

I wouldn't tell him that.

Tell him you want him to be an All Star. We'll feed you the rock, on the other end grab rebounds, block shots, and move your feet on defense.

If you ask him to get rebounds and blocks without getting offense might as well trade him now.

 

uh...I didn't say I didn't want him scoring 20 and getting 10 dimes...I just want him leading the league in those two categories. Addition by addition. He's already a mid range pick and pop stud like Lamarcus was.

 

rebounds are possible, although he'll have to shift his gears upward. He was 9th in reb/game last season and 18th in rebound rate

but he sure doesn't seem like a high level shot-blocker. He was 41st in blocked shot rate last season, and 38th in blocks/game

 

With better wing and back court defense hopefully he won't be left on an island in the paint like Nurk was after Winslow went down. I'm assuming we click on defense. We have better defenders with the Dame trade so I'm optimistic.