DeAndre Ayton Scouting Report

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DeAndre Ayton (Big, 19, 7'0", 250 lbs)

Statistical Profile

Strengths

Ayton is a physical freak that looks like he was carved out of stone. He has massively wide shoulders and a frame reminiscent of David Robinson. He is a great leaper for his size and is light on his feet. He is an outstanding rebounder who relies on high-pointing balls as opposed to boxing out. His sheer mass and coordination are the biggest reasons for his hype, and rightfully so, but his game is less advanced than some of the other centers on the board.

Offensively, he is an elite sealer who establishes post position and catches for easy dunks. He has above-average coordination for his size and is a great finisher at the rim and a remarkable lob threat. Despite simply catching and dunking, he has a great post game (90th percentile on post ups), and can drop step, shoot fade-aways or hook shots, and has a couple spin moves.

He is a very comfortable and adept mid range and free throw shooter with potential to stretch out as a three point shooter. He is good at handling doubles as well as using his size to make passes, be it dump offs or cross court to shooters.

Defensively, he moves his feet extremely well for his size. He is very agile and can trap pick and rolls and contain dribble drives at a solid rate. He improved from the beginning of the season as a help defender and shot blocker, but that is about the end of his strengths defensively.

Weaknesses

Ayton’s steal and block rates are extremely low for a high profile lottery center. He lacks awareness and IQ as a help defender, is slow to react to developing actions, and often misses rotations on penetration and the back line.

Offensively, Ayton is a poor screen setter, rarely making contact, and sets ball screens with a weak base despite his size. He loves his face up mid range jumper, which is his least efficient offensive option (39th percentile — .865 ppp on 104 possessions).

He did not flash much ball handling ability or craft around the rim, and one wonders if he can rely on his size to overpower defenders at the next level because his offensive skillset is not well developed outside of the post. While he is extremely mobile, he has no fluidity off the bounce and is far less agile when on the move. He has no dribbling prowess at all when sped up or when facing significant pressure.

There are questions about Ayton’s attitude, “love for the game” and his general physicality. Furthermore, he doesn’t have an advanced feel and has poor natural instincts on both sides of the ball. These are largely intangible concerns, but they are weaknesses nonetheless and could be ruinous for a team selecting him in the top three.

Summary

Centers with Ayton’s size and mobility rarely fail in the NBA. However, the ones that struggle to reach their potential are the ones that fail to maximize their physical gifts. Ayton has a range of outcomes where he is an All-NBA center. However, it’s possible that neglects to dedicate himself to his craft and his lack of awareness and a reliance on his stature are the driving forces in his career. He is extremely agile, light on his feet, a dynamic lob threat with a solid post game and a plus passer out of double teams. However, he’s a poor help defender, a mediocre rim protector, and lacks the craft and skillset to create for himself consistently on offense without overpowering opponents. Like Bagley, Ayton has an extremely wide range of possibilities and a lower floor than a player like Jaren Jackson. If you believe in his ability to improve and correct some of his holes on defense then he is certainly worth selecting in the top three. I am not as confident, and worry he could be a Hassan Whiteside or Jonas Valanciunas type — a massive player that puts up numbers and looks pretty doing it but fails to have a sizable impact on meaningful winning.