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NBA rumors: Brutal Deandre Ayton Blazers revelations should give Lakers pause

NBA rumors: Brutal Deandre Ayton Blazers revelations should give Lakers pause

Yahoo18 hours ago
The post NBA rumors: Brutal Deandre Ayton Blazers revelations should give Lakers pause appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Since his release from the Portland Trail Blazers, DeAndre Ayton has received serious interest from the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. While the move makes sense on paper, the apparent reason why Ayton is available in the first place should concern any team looking to sign him.
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Following Ayton's release, details emerged suggesting the Blazers cut ties due to his lack of discipline and personality flaws rather than his on-court performances, according to The Athletic's Jason Quick. While he has been disappointing since landing in Portland, it was Ayton's reported 'tardiness' and 'tantrums' that did him in.
'See, the Blazers could live with Ayton missing shots or his man scoring on him,' Quick wrote. 'They could even live with him being limited by injuries to 55 and 40 games in his two seasons in Portland. But in the end, they couldn't live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source. The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort.'
The Blazers' release of Ayton was significant, considering he was the main piece they received from the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade in 2023. However, Portland seemingly prepared for the move a year ago when it selected Donovan Clingan in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Since joining the team, Ayton has averaged 15.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game over the last two years. While solid, his numbers have declined from his final two seasons with the Phoenix Suns, during which he averaged 17.2 and 18.0 points per game, respectively.
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Lakers' interest in DeAndre Ayton following Blazers release
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Despite the flaws in his performances, the Los Angeles Lakers have still aggressively pursued Ayton in free agency. The Lakers have been on his tail since his release was announced, with a deal seemingly on the horizon.
The Lakers have desperately needed a center for several years, but seem to have urgency to resolve the situation in the 2025 offseason. Los Angeles has also targeted Brook Lopez, Clint Capela and Al Horford, among others.
Not only did the Lakers have a size issue in the 2024-2025 season, but they are also prepared to let Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len walk in free agency. Hayes and Len were the team's top two centers late in the year after trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic and failing to acquire Mark Williams.
Related: Nuggets continue dazzling offseason in Jonas Valanciunas trade with Kings
Related: NBA rumors: Pistons, Kings linked to Malik Monk-Dennis Schroder trade
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Can 'Powerful' Haason Reddick Be Difference Maker For Buccaneers?

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time42 minutes ago

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When the Dallas Cowboys won their third Super Bowl of the Jerry Jones era, Jones was 53 years old. Jones is 82 now, still stuck on three Super Bowls. The Cowboys' drought follows them around everywhere. Their last Super Bowl season was 30 years ago. They haven't made a conference championship game since then either, amazingly enough the longest dry spell in the NFC. When Jones says the Cowboys are going "all in" on offseason moves and it doesn't happen, he hears about how long it has been since they won. When he makes the unexciting hire of first-time head coach Brian Schottenheimer, everyone wonders why there wasn't more urgency. Advertisement It's not just Jones chasing a title, though he's the most visible owner in the NFL and the face of the franchise. Dak Prescott has had a good career but he can't escape the annoying talk about his legacy, not even in the middle of June when the NBA Finals was going on. "I wanna win a championship," Prescott said, via the team's site. 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"Then from there go back and look at the numbers, I've always enjoyed play action pass or just being able to get back to that, but you've got to start with the run game, and when you have that, the rest of the offense can open up." How much will Brian Schottenheimer (right) rely on Dak Prescott in his first season as Dallas' head coach? (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) (Jayne Kamin-Oncea via Getty Images) BetMGM odds breakdown From Yahoo's Ben Fawkes: 'Oddsmakers aren't expecting a big season in Big D. The Cowboys have a win total of just 7.5 at BetMGM – their lowest win total since 2003. Dallas went under its win total for the first time in four seasons in 2024-25, as Dak Prescott got hurt and the Mike Zimmer-led defense fell apart. The Cowboys are favored in only six games this season. A Week 2 game vs. the New York Giants as a 4.5-point favorite is the most points they are projected to be favored by all season. If you're a true Prescott believer, 40-to-1 to win MVP could be worth a small wager." Advertisement Yahoo's fantasy take From Yahoo's Scott Pianowski: "Injuries have been common with Dak Prescott in recent seasons — he's missed 25 games the last five years — and perhaps it's obscuring what's possible. Consider that he was the QB2 in 2019, the QB7 in 2021 and the QB3 in 2023 — the year he finished second in the MVP voting. The supporting cast looks appealing; the Cowboys have an elite wideout in Ceedee Lamb and now a dynamic No. 2 in George Pickens — if Pickens is okay in that role. Jake Ferguson isn't a bad tight end. And perhaps Prescott will have to throw liberally, given a defense that was 24th in DVOA last year, and a running game that looks pedestrian on paper. Prescott is currently the No. 14 quarterback in Yahoo ADP, and he has the potential to smash that ranking." Stat to remember In Dan Quinn's three seasons as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, Dallas' defense finished 4th, 4th and 5th in DVOA. Last season, after Quinn left to be Washington's head coach, the Cowboys plummeted to 24th. Injuries, particularly one to Micah Parsons that cost him four games, didn't help. But a group that was mostly the same from the season before had a severe drop, and that's concerning. Coaching matters, and remember to not underestimate the loss of key coordinators. Mike Zimmer is out after one year running Dallas' defense, replaced by former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. Eberflus was overwhelmed as a head coach but was a successful defensive coordinator for four seasons with the Colts before that. With better health and more cohesiveness with Eberflus' scheme, perhaps the Cowboys can bounce back. But after finishing 31st in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed last season, it's a lot to ask for the Cowboys defense to return to a top five level. Advertisement Burning question Is the offensive line better? While the Cowboys lack of difference making running backs and pass catchers outside of CeeDee Lamb impacted last season's offense, a subpar offensive line was a big reason Dallas got off to a slow start. Dak Prescott took 21 sacks in eight games and had the second highest sack rate of his career. Prescott has some responsibility over that sack rate, but the issues at tackle were glaring too. Among 81 graded tackles by Pro Football Focus last season, right tackle Terence Steele's pass blocking grade ranked 65th and rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton ranked 60th. Guard Tyler Booker was added with the 12th pick and he'll replace retired Zack Martin, but the Cowboys will either be depending on internal improvement from the tackles (especially Guyton, a first-round pick) or move guard Tyler Smith to left tackle and rearrange the starting five. The Cowboys' line needs to improve or the passing game will suffer again. Best case scenario Sometimes, talented teams start slow, take on injuries and the season spins out of control fast. And even when the Cowboys' 2024 season slipped away, they were competitive despite Dak Prescott being on injured reserve and with non-stop questions about Mike McCarthy's future. It's reasonable to believe 2024 was the one-off season for Dallas and 12 wins is closer to its true level. Brian Schottenheimer wasn't a popular hire but Jerry Jones knew him well and he could prove to be a good head coach. There's uncertainty with Schottenheimer, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Eagles seem light years ahead of the Cowboys now, but it was Dallas who won the NFC East in 2021 and 2023. The Cowboys have never posted a losing season when Prescott plays more than eight games. The Cowboys are the one NFL team treated the same as most SEC schools, where there's no rational reaction when anything bad happens. Every Cowboys misstep is blown out of proportion. Maybe by the end of the season we'll see that one bad season in an otherwise strong stretch wasn't a reason to give up on the Cowboys. Advertisement Nightmare scenario The problem with having blue-chip stars and Jerry Jones' desire to pay them all top dollar is that it makes for a top heavy roster. There's a reason the Cowboys had some holes on defense, the offensive line and at many skill positions last season. Not all of those questions were answered in the offseason. The Cowboys don't have the cap space to make many expensive additions. So the team is hoping that 2024 was a bit of anomaly, and that's not always wise. Plenty can change in just a year. It could be that we saw the roster slip, and maybe all of the criticism over the Brian Schottenheimer hire was correct. Philadelphia and Washington were miles ahead of the Cowboys last season, and we might see that gap widen over the next few years. The crystal ball says The Cowboys should rebound, but probably not all the way back to 12 wins. The defensive dip last season, with former coordinator Dan Quinn off to coach Washington, was precipitous and concerning. The Cowboys still have deficiencies at the skill positions, especially if the George Pickens gamble doesn't work out. And we have no idea what Brian Schottenheimer is as an NFL head coach. The Cowboys can probably compete to be the second-best team in the NFC East — catching the Eagles likely isn't happening, and might not for a few years — but getting close to 12 wins seems unlikely. Perhaps Dallas sneaks into a wild-card spot, but even if it does, don't expect a deep playoff run. And then the talk of the Cowboys' championship drought can continue on for another year.

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