NBA Draft: Luka Doncic rises to first in 2018 NBA Redraft
player. 125. . Center. Atlanta Hawks. DeAndre Ayton. 5
It’s a testament to how good DeAndre Ayton has been in his career and how hard he has worked to improve that the Phoenix Suns are not regularly blasted for passing on Luka Doncic in the 2018 NBA Draft. The 6’11”
redwood tree
center has been a beast for the Suns inside as he has grown into a top-10 center in the league.
Ayton didn’t waste any time as a rookie, averaging 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds as he flashed his ability in the post and ability to box out and secure rebounds. The growth continued in his second season as he became a solid rim protector, averaging 1.5 blocks per game and sharpening his positioning and effort. Last year the addition of Chris Paul pushed him to third in the pecking order, so he found a way to thrive in his role, increasing his field goal percentage as he embraced screening, diving and finishing.
The upside for Ayton may not be as high as Luka Doncic or Trae Young, but he has been an incredibly good player thus far in his career. He stepped up to the plate in the NBA Bubble last year when the Suns went 8-0, and he not only stayed on the court during their postseason run this past year but thrived. His arrow continues to trend up.
In our redraft, the Atlanta Hawks miss out on Trae Young, but they do get an incredibly talented player in DeAndre Ayton. Their trajectory would be very different, as instead of finding defensive pieces to build around Young they would need to find shot creation to pair with Ayton.