When he was playing for the first year, the team gave up the No. 1 pick! Why did the 26-year-old Ayton fall to this point?

The inside players who have shot in the current league can be said to be sought after, but Ayton, who entered the league as the No. 1 pick, was bought out by the Trail Blazers at the age of 26. So why is Ayton so disgraceful? This issue of the column will help you understand through in-depth data analysis.

Eaton was bought out, which means he would become a free agent. Some people may ask why the Trail Blazers did not trade Aidon for some assets. The answer may not be that the Trail Blazers do not want to trade but really can't find the next one and can only settle for the second best. In this way, Aidon's field value may be even lower. So what kind of performance did Aidon perform last season? Why did the Trail Blazers go directly to the point?

Last season, Ayton averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in combination with the NBA Cup, with a shooting percentage of 56.6% and 18.8% in both categories. Judging from the basic data, he is the team's main center but not the All-Star level. However, from each season of his career, his overall performance this season can even be said to be inferior to his rookie season. You should know that 26-30 years old is the peak of professional players, but Ayton has experienced an exaggerated decline. In addition, his annual salary of more than 30 million has discouraged the team that hopes to get him.

So how did Ayton play last season? Judging from the proportion of shots in each area, his main shot areas are concentrated in the three-point line, especially in the three-second area, and fewer shots outside the three-point line.

At the same time, from the shooting percentage of each area, Ayton's three-point shooting percentage is only 18.8%. Therefore, on the offensive end, he is in the threat of shooting in all areas within the three-point line, but the threat of three-point shooting is very weak. His spatial attributes can only be extended to the middle-range area, which is somewhat contrary to the three-point shooting ability that many teams need.

, and 71.4% of Ayton's shots come from direct shots that do not dribble. His shot proportion will decrease with the increase of the number of dribbles on the ball. This means that he is not good at finding a mobile phone by dribbling on the ball and then completing the end. Instead, he relies very much on his teammates to create a mobile phone for him and then completing the end.

The direct shot is his main method of shooting and the highest effective shooting rate combined with the three-point shooting situation. This means that Ayton's hit rate will decrease with the increase of dribbles on the ball and he is a center who relies more on his teammates. From the offensive end, Ayton's shortcomings are very serious, so does he have no advantage?

The answer is no. Although he lacks the ability to take the ball offensive, Ayton is a center who is very good at pick-and-roll attacking with his teammates. He averages 4 rounds per game to try to cover his teammates. After the screening, he has an effective hit rate of 59.2%. This hit rate is third among the players who are the most pick-and-rolls per game, behind Sa Sa and the Lakers' Dark Eyebrow. This is his strong ability on the offensive end.

For centers, rebounding is equally important as defense. Ayton averaged 10.4 rebounds per game in the regular season last season, but Ayton had a rebounding rate of only 37.4% when there were opponents around him, and was only third from the bottom among the 16 players who averaged double rebounds. This means that Ayton's rebounding comes more from unscrambled confrontations. It's no wonder that people gave him the nickname "Dunbao".

Aiton on the defensive end can make the opponent's shooting rate lower than the average season of the game, but the opponent's shooting rate is relatively limited. It can only be said that he has a certain ability to protect the frame but it is difficult to call it a strong force. Aiton outside the three-point line will increase the opponent's shooting rate. Aiton on the defensive end can only say that his average will not lower the team's defense but will not make the team better.

Of course, it is also biased for center players to only look at the data, and the role of the field is also a critical consideration: when Ayton was on the court and was not on the court last season, the Trail Blazers' offensive efficiency was 110 and 110.3, the defensive efficiency was 116.8 and 111.7, and the net efficiency was negative 6.9 and -1.3.

This means that whether Ayton is present or not will have much impact on the team's score per 100 rounds, but it will increase the team's score per 100 rounds. Overall, Ayton's presence will make the team's net loss per 100 rounds more, which means that Ayton's presence is more negative.

The deceased end has obvious blind spots on the offensive end, and the number of rebounds is acceptable but not good at confrontation. As an offensive style like the inside, it is obviously difficult to become the inside that the team needs most. For example, for the Lakers, Ayton's role in the field may not be better than Finney Smith. At least Finney is quite versatile on the defensive end and has confrontation and shooting ability.