14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists! Compared to Vanderbilt, was the $16 million spent by the Lakers worth it?

Vanderbilt played 581 minutes in the 24-25 season and had a defensive real plus-minus of 1.3. For the latter alone, Kamara's annual second defense value is 0.8. In other words, a healthy "Fan Der Biao" has a defensive level.

What is Vanderbilt's problem?

First of all, it is the "glass" physique - he has only played 91 games in the two and a half seasons since joining the Lakers. You must know that Mikal Bridges played 100 times in the 24-25 season - 82 games in the regular season and 18 games in the playoffs.

Secondly, the deterioration of termination ability. For 0-3 feet alone, the downward trends were 68.5%, 67.2%, and 64.9% respectively in the two and a half seasons.

Let’s take the second point as an example. In the second preseason game against the Warriors, "Fan Der Biao" made 3 of 9 shots and 0 of 4 three-pointers. Obviously, this level of finishing is still worrying.

On the contrary, Ayton, his inside partner, made 6 of 8 shots and scored 14 points efficiently.

How should we understand Ayton?

I think, compared with Vanderbilt, the Lakers signing Ayton for 2 years and $16 million is worth it.

Immediate combat effectiveness

Ayton started the second preseason game against the Warriors and scored 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in 26 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting. Just looking at the data of 14+8+5, it feels like Jokic and Sabonis have seen each other. To be precise, he can not only finish effectively individually but also effectively connect his teammates.

In fact, in the 398 games so far in his NBA career, Ayton has averaged 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, which is far better than Vanderbilt's average of 5.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. That is, stronger combat power, this is one of them.

Attitude

According to the NBA China official website: Ayton said in an interview that he wanted to change everyone's view of his defense. He wanted to become the cornerstone of the Lakers' defense.

Regardless of whether Ayton can become the cornerstone of the Lakers' defense, at least this correct attitude is worthy of recognition.

As recognized as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, it can be said that Ayton's dynamic and static talents are top-notch among players at the same position. In the past, poor defense (career defensive real plus-minus -0.2) was more about attitude than physical hardware.

There is a good explanation for this:

In the 14 minutes and 25 seconds of the 24-25 season against Jokic, Ayton limited the former to 3 of 10 shots. It can be seen that as long as the defensive attitude is correct, Ayton's defensive ability is still worthy of recognition. Having a good attitude is the second one.

Contract

Vanderbilt still has a three-year, $36 million contract, and Ayton has a two-year, $16 million contract. It should be noted that the former does not have any players or team drafts, while the latter has a player option for the second year. In other words, there is a greater sense of crisis than Ayton. To be precise, once you fail to perform convincingly in the new season, it will be difficult to get a big contract in the future.

Of course, it is precisely because of the sense of crisis that there is an invisible "BUFF" bonus effect. Relatively speaking, this is the third contract that has expired.

To sum up, the reason why Ayton is worth compared to Vanderbilt is mainly reflected in three points:

1. Ayton has stronger immediate combat ability;

2. He has a correct attitude on the defensive end;

3. It has an immediate combat effectiveness bonus compared to the expired contract.

Relatively speaking, I think the second point is the main reason.

First of all, what impressed Vanderbilt was the defense, but now it seems that Ayton's performance on the defensive end with a correct attitude is no worse than the former. The expiring contract at the third point has played a very good role in promoting it at this time. I urge Ayton to play hard, otherwise it will be difficult to renew the contract.

Finally, as long as Ayton effectively maintains his injuries, I think he can earn an annual salary of at least US$20 million in the new season, which is higher than the signing price of US$16 million.