NBA Mock Draft: DeAndre Ayton joins the Hawks

I was fortunate enough to watch Deandre Ayton in person on Dec. 5 in the Valley of the Sun Shootout, when Arizona beat Texas A&M in a close game thanks in large part to his performance. But aside from getting a front-row seat to analyze the concerns about his defensive impact, most of what forced my opinion of Ayton to evolve was what his coach, Sean Miller, said about him postgame.

First of all, Ayton is starting next to a more traditional center than he is, meaning that the majority of his minutes are coming out of position. Miller pointed out that not only would that be uncomfortable for most players, it also forces Ayton to learn the defensive system from two positions. When Dusan Ristic sits, Arizona plays smaller players like Ira Lee or Keanu Pinder at power forward while Ayton slides to center. Ayton looks much better in these lineups, especially defensively, when he is able to stay around the rim and survey the floor.

Miller also mentioned Ayton’s multidimensional post game as a big strength on which the Wildcats lean. Ayton helped seal the victory over Texas A&M with an assist to Ristic from the left block, and is averaging nearly two assists per game as a freshman center. He doesn’t need to look for the pass every time because of his ability to make difficult shots, and Miller loves his centers, but Ayton’s passing when and if Arizona plays spaced-out lineups (they have the personnel to do so) is the big thing to watch from him, outside of consistent defensive effort.

It takes just one look at his statistics, where he’s posting a 21-11 every night, to realize the kind of generational offensive talent he is. Ayton is fortunate enough to be so far along that he can develop secondary skills already.