You just thought only their regular season was beginning in earnest.
Yes, it was just one game.
But what an abysmal affair it was: the worst season-opening loss in franchise history.
My primary fear going into this season, as expressed as [A] Deep Thought, already seems to have taken root:
Many retoolings and rebuilds have gone off the rails after there has been too much losing. If you’re not playing to win, if you’re not playing for each other, then what are you playing for!?
Such an environment breeds selfishness and undermines organizational culture. Losing permeates everything if it goes on too long; it becomes what most characterizes the culture.
There is just no excuse for beginning any season in this fashion! There obviously has been too much losing.
Might this be why, to the surprise of many, Head Coach Chauncey Billups has opted to start Toumani Camara over Scoot Henderson? I certainly view this as a shift to win-now-over-development. But, as we’re seeing in the season’s early going, there is only so much Billups can do.
It’s time to cut out the rot!
For there to be any hope of saving what will remain of the body, of the team and season, one player must go.
As knee-jerk of a reaction to one game as this may seem, it’s actually something I’ve been mulling over since March …
DeAndre Ayton, I’m sorry to inform you that your services are no longer required. Hello Donovan Clingan, DominAyton…
[Parental Advisory – this hyperlink is to Deadpool’s epic fight and dance scene from Deadpool & Wolverine. No language, but it gives off Mortal Kombat ‘Finish Him’ vibes. I give it an ESRB rating of M]
While I love 2nd chances and reclamation projects as much as anyone, I am now ready, finally, to echo what Jason Quick wrote after the NBA’s trade deadline last year:
Wait, What!?
And why did it take me so long?
Perhaps I should’ve seen this coming, but I had been thinking along the same lines as Doug Haller of The Athletic. This is how he ended his reflection on DeAndre Ayton’s 5-year run with the Suns:
“In Portland, Ayton will have extra motivation. He’ll probably put up big numbers. He has the talent to make Phoenix regret this trade. It’s the fire many have wanted to see for most of the past two seasons.”
By mid-January last season, I had identified DeAndre as the Trail Blazers’ Defensive Anchor, as one of their Diamonds in the Rough. He missed a stretch of 3 games, and then 11 games, and the team seemed to really miss the backline of their defense and his rebounding:
Man, has it gotten ugly without DeAndre Ayton in the Blazers lineup. The team was able to remain competitive in the early going of his absence, but the wheels have since come all the way off. The timeline of DeAndre’s games missed is pretty inciteful:
- They actually won the first game Ayton missed on Nov. 22, beating the Jazz 121-105.
- He then missed three additional games from Dec. 6th to Dec. 11th, with the Portland Trail Blazers losing all three. However, the games were competitive, with an average margin of defeat of just over 7 points.
- While DeAndre Ayton is expected back soon, he hasn’t played since just before Christmas, on Dec. 23, to be exact. Portland has now played ten additional games without him.
Much like before, when DeAndre missed three games from Dec. 6th to Dec. 11th, the Blazers were able to piece things together during the first three games of this 10-game absence, actually winning two of three. And they managed to only lose to the Spurs by 13 points on Dec. 28th. But since beating the Spurs the following night, it has gotten the ugliest it’s been all season.
Other than beating the Nets in overtime on Jan. 7th, the Portland Trail Blazers have lost all six games by an average margin of defeat of over 33 points. Even removing the 62-point drubbing, the margin is still a staggering 27.4 points.
So, what changed for me?
Well, simply put, kinks started to appear in DominAyton’s armor.
In the same trade deadline recap, J. Quick also reported on said kinks:
“Although his play has spiked for the better in the past month, his first months in Portland were defined by tardiness and tantrums, according to team sources.”
Then kinks became cracks, but in a dam, not armor.
After his best stretch of play as a Portland Trail Blazer, spanning a total of 7 games from Feb. 23rd – 27th & Mar. 9th – 14th (having missed time with a wrist injury), DeAndre Ayton sought to explain why he was finally living up to his moniker of DominAyton to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/Oregonlive.com
(Trail Blazers’ Deandre Ayton opens up about overcoming personal struggles that led to recent success):
“Earlier in the season, Ayton played far less aggressively. At the time, Ayton said on Thursday, he was feeling his way through the offense and playing with new players. But there was more to his struggles.
“’My body wasn’t just my body,’ he said. ‘People forget the humane difference of me adjusting to everything.’
“That included something as routine as getting proper sleep.
“’Just being comfortable in waking up,’ he said. ‘I didn’t have a bed for quite some time. I was on an air mattress.’”
This is the precise moment when I really began to stew about DeAndre’s long-term viability in Portland.
Ayton, and this is the best case, was explaining away/excusing his uneven play from earlier in the season. But what was gravely concerning was the actual reason he gave for not “being comfortable in waking up”:
“I was on an air mattress.”
So, he identified a problem, a problem he could’ve easily solved, and in short order too, but opted instead to keep sleeping on a damn air mattress, presumably for months. If this isn’t a red flag, I don’t know what is, especially since the organization he now plays for espouses the benefits of sleep science.
His professionalism was/is now very much in question. There just is no excuse for not handling your business. (Or for getting blown out in your season opener, forming what I think is an interesting parallel.)
What an embarrassment for him and the organization!
At that time, however, all the Trail Blazers had at center besides DeAndre Ayton was the perpetually injured Robert Williams III (RW3) and Duop Reath. So, short of banking on RW3’s health, the best the Blazers could hope for is more consistency from DeAndre. But I think the ship has finally sailed on Ayton, ever being consistently dominant.
He wasn’t in year 1 for the Blazers or in his 5 years with the Phoenix Suns. After peaking with Phoenix in 2021, culminating in their run to the 2021 NBA Finals, his play the last two years with the Suns mirrored his first with the Portland Trail Blazers, again, courtesy of Doug Haller:
And yet, between years 4 and 5, the Phoenix Suns signed him to a maximum contract extension. Admittedly, the potential is tantalizing, and I had hoped a fresh start was all DeAndre Ayton needed to fully unlock it, but the verdict has come back, and he is just not the type of player any team should be investing maximum money in. A consummate professional, he is not, nor has he ever been, an All-Star.
Thankfully, in June’s draft, when Donovan Clingan fell into Portland’s lap (The Good from the Trail Blazers offseason), the tide started to turn, and even more pressure began to be put on the Trade of DeAndre Ayton Dam.
The center depth chart now looks much better sans DeAndre: Robert Williams III (health permitting), Donovan Clingan, and Duop Reath.
Given what we’ve learned firsthand, it stands to reason that signing Ayton to an extension or resigning him as a free agent after the 2025-26 season does not make even one iota of sense. The prospect of DeAndre Ayton (DA) getting a raise beyond the $35.5 million he’ll make that season terrifies me.
Most alarming of all, though, is that DA expects a raise. In his mind, he is a maximum player and always should be. This is per Mark Medina of Basketball Intelligence back in January:
“Deandre Ayton conveyed strong beliefs about his talent, his market value and scrutiny he has received over his inconsistent playoff performances and attitude.
“’I got nothing to prove in this league,’ Ayton told Basketball Intelligence. ‘I’m a max player, and I’ll continue to be a max player.’”
Sure sounds like “cruise control” to me. Case closed; dam broken!
I haven’t wanted a player to be traded this badly since Meyers Leonard. Nothing against Meyers, the person, but I would’ve traded Leonard, the basketball player, for a rack of basketballs. And I would gladly trade DeAndre for a similar return; I keed, I keed!
All joking aside, DeAndre Ayton was a depressed asset when he arrived in Portland. Since then, he has done more harm than good to his value. So, the Trail Blazers shouldn’t expect much in return but should trade him post haste nonetheless.
To where and for whom, you ask?
In an ironic twist of fate, for the very player that hit the game-winner to lift his team over the Blazers in their 2nd game.
None other than Brandon Ingram!
He’s a high-level player just now entering his prime and might be on All-Stardom’s cusp. If he were to become the Portland Trail Blazers’ go-to player, I would really like his chances. And I think Anfernee Simons would be happy to be Robin to Ingram’s Batman in what would unequivocally be a win-now trade.
Simons is ready to win, after all, so let’s give Penny A Chance in this way.
Per ESPN’s Trade Machine, a straight-up trade of DeAndre Ayton for Brandon Ingram works. But why would the New Orleans Pelicans trade a high-level player for a depressed asset?
Well, for starters, they have a gaping hole at center with Daniel Theis and Yves Missi filling out their depth chart. Missi might be their center of the future but isn’t ready for Prime Time yet.
Of much greater concern to New Orleans is entering into salary cap purgatory, where they resign Ingram at the market rate; he’s a free agent. Having just signed Trey Murphy III to an extension, the Pelicans seemed to have already moved on from Brandon Ingram, a cap casualty of the new CBA being more punitive for overspending (there’s a 2nd Apron now).
If I’m Joe Cronin (JC), I’d even be willing to include draft compensation to get this deal done (one, maybe two-round picks).
I also view this trade as a means for JC to clean up the Portland Trail Blazers books further.
Since Brandon Ingram is an obvious replacement for Jerami Grant (and a definitive upgrade), Cronin could finally execute a trade of Grant for a first-round pick (ideally 2) and expiring contracts. The end result of such maneuvering would be Portland replacing Ayton and Grant’s salaries with just Brandon Ingram’s after resigning the free agent.
There’s no need to rush into a Jerami Grant trade, though. Ingram could start at shooting guard for the time being and then form a potent forward tandem with Deni Avdija after a Grant trade.
Per Hollinger’s Analysis (a part of ESPN’s Trade Machine calculus), this trade would improve the Trail Blazers’ bottom line by 11 wins.
So, to Joe Cronin, I say, what are you waiting for!?
I loved your article. I have been a blazer fan since about 1974. Heck, Terry Dischinger did braces for my kids. Your analysis was thoughtful, detailed and compelling. At 75, I have never commented back to an article. Well done. Keep up the good work. I hope JC listens to you, but, sadly, probably not. I also liked your bio.