Exclusive Ayton is agreeing to buyout

What does outplay mean? If you mean he should be able to play in a way that would contribute more to wins (which is how I would define playing better) it's just not a fair fight. The bigger problem is that I don't think Shaedon will outplay any of Tou, Deni or Jerami by that same definition. So if we're just going to play the guys who give us the best chance to win the next game, every game next year then Scoot and Shaedon will be bench pieces which just isn't the way to get the best from them for our futre, in my opinion. I think it's short sighted bullshit but that's not me faulting Chauncey if it's what happens. The team just isn't constructed coherently.

 

we know somebody in Portland really wanted him....a lot. We heard rumors of the Blazers coveting him for nearly 2 years before the trade. I'd imagine that was Cronin because at the presser Cronin explicitly said Ayton "was a top-5 C with plenty of room to grow". That was a massively bad evaluation

 

It was a pretty low risk swing. He didn't work out and now he's gone. Oh well.

 

The guy has talent, and it makes sense to take a chance on that talent, with hopes of a new environment bringing out his best version. When he is playing both ends with energy, the guy is really good.

 

I think it's fine if Scoot and Sharpe are coming off the bench because that gives us a better chance to win.

The problem the last few years is this wasn't the case. Scoot had times he was playing better than Ant yet still coming off the bench. Clingan outplayed Ayton but was benched. Deni outplayed Grant and was benched.

The problem next year would be if Jrue, Grant or others are given starting spots just because they're vets or just because of any reason outside of production on the court.

 

Ayton was really good? But just how good?

I remember the year Hassan Whiteside spent as a Blazer. A lot of fans hated him and thought he sucked. But how does Whiteside in his year as a Blazer compare to Ayton this last season? Maybe that can gauge just how 'good' Ayton was:

Points/100-possessions: Ayton 23.2....Whiteside 24.7 (Whiteside 1.5 more points on 2.2 fewer shots)
Rebonds/100-possessions: Ayton 16.4....Whiteside 21.5
Blocks/100-possessions: Ayton 1.6....Whiteside 4.7
FTA/100-possessions: Ayton 2.4....Whiteside 5.7

Off Rating: Ayton 115....Whiteside 125
Def Rating: Ayton 112....Whiteside 107
Net Rating: Ayton +3....Whiteside +18

FG%: Ayton .566....Whiteside .621
FT%: Ayton .667....Whiteside .686
eFG%: Ayton .573....Whiteside .624
TS%: Ayton .583....Whiteside .644
Points/Shot: Ayton 1.23....Whiteside 1.48

PER: Ayton 17.7....Whiteside 25.0
FT Rate: Ayton .128....Whiteside .340
Total Reb Rate: Ayton 18.2%....Whiteside 23.6%
Off Reb Rate: Ayton 10.9%....Whiteside 13.6%
Assist Rate: Ayton 8.5%....Whiteside 5.9%
Block Rate: Ayton 2.9%....Whiteside 8.4%
Winshares/48: Ayton .113....Whiteside .204
BPM: Ayton -0.7....Whiteside +3.2
VORP: Ayton 0.4....Whiteside 2.6 (cumulative; but Whiteside 650% higher VORP on 67% more minutes)

it's a clean sweep, across the board for Whiteside...except for assists rate. And considering Ayton is a poor passer, that make Whiteside terrible

but other that that....

* Whiteside was an elite rim-protector & shot-blocker. Yeah, sometimes he'd go overboard hunting shots to block and allow back door offensive rebounds. But he had a definite impact in altering opponent shots. When Whiteside was on the floor, opponents had a eFG% of .523; when he was off the floor, it was .538. When Ayton was on the floor, opponents had an eFG% of .570; when he was off the floor it was .531. Those are huge differences

* same is true for the overall opponent offenses. When Whiteside was on the floor opponents had an offensive rating of 113.8; off the floor it was 116.9. Not the same, at all, for Ayton. When he was on the floor, Opponents had an offensive rating of 118.4; when he was off the floor 113.6

* if you're keeping track, Whitesides on/off-team/opponent net offensive rating was +8.0. Ayton's was -5.1

to me, rim protection and paint defense are, generically, the most important skills for a modern big. Rebounding is quite important too and Whiteside was much better at that, at both ends of the floor, especially offensive rebounding. Whiteside got to the FT line at a much higher rate which meant he was drawing fouls on defenders and getting opponents in the bonus; not the case with Ayton. They both suck as passers. Whiteside was better at screens

the only skill advantage Ayton has is mid-range shooting; without drawing fouls. I don't see much value in that. I wasn't very fond of Whiteside, but IMO, he did things well that had more value

so I guess maybe the question was Whiteside underrated or is Ayton overrated; or a combo of both. Some people claimed Whiteside had empty stats. If he had empty stats, are Ayton's even emptier?

so very glad he's gone

 

Might be. Or if may have primarily been Bert.

 

I remember Whiteside season here how posters were saying we wouldn't be able to retain him because he'd warrant a 20mil or larger contract.

The next off-season he signed for the vet minimum, then a year later was out of the league.

Your right - even that weak production of a center was much better than Ayton.

I don't understand the posters here that defend Ayton. I swear some of them only look at ppg/rpg and ignore all other contributions. Ayton defense is some of the worst effort I've ever seen from a big man.

 

I thought Whiteside got a bad rep as a player. He wasn't as bad as people made him out to be. He wasn't elite by any means, but he was more than serviceable.

 

Whiteside was a rim deterrent, but he was not a good defender. Same vein of players though, where their counting stats look good but it was obvious why they became vet min guys real quick. Same with Andre Drummond.

 

Whiteside was a Fantasy Darling but a very mediocre player.

 

He could not set a screen to save his life.

 

See, the Blazers could live with Ayton missing shots or his man scoring on him. They could even live with him being limited by injuries to 55 and 40 games in his two seasons in Portland. But in the end, they couldn’t live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source. The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort.
– via New York Times

Seems like it was maybe more than just saving some money

 

Kind of spreads light on his time in Phoenix and troubles with Monty.

 

Makes sense... I was just judging him off his shit effort on the court.

 

Sounds like Lakers were hoping to get Lopez but he went to the Clippers.

Will Ayton get the full MLE or tax MLE anywhere? Or maybe he will have to sign for less.

Best for the Blazers the more he signs for as it reduces his cap hit.

Kind of proves it would've been near impossible to trade him earning close to 40 million if teams don't even want him for the MLE.

 

I DID forget

 

Yeah Later Dominayton

 

Lots of you assuming he's going to the Lakers. But would Lebron want him there? I can't see Lebron wanting a guy like Ayton who obviously isnt a good locker room guy and doesn't give 100%.

 

The Pacers just lost their starting C....and Indy is the team that gave Ayton that crazy offer sheet

match made in heaven? (or hell?)