Does Deandre Ayton Fit Thunder's Timeline Better Than Trail Blazers'?

Do the Oklahoma City Thunder make more sense for Deandre Ayton than the Portland Trail Blazers?

Media day is either underway or upcoming for each NBA franchise, which means a multitude of things. One of those things is working out the details on big trades, which was seen by the Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. 

In short, Damian Lillard is now teammates with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Deandre Ayton and Jrue Holiday are in Portland (for now) and Jusuf Nurkic is in Phoenix. 

There's more to the trade, but those are the basics. It's also not a finished product. Holiday is being actively shopped to find a new home for his talents in a situation that much better fits his win-now traits and veteran presence. So, will they reroute Ayton in the process?

It doesn't seem like it, for now. Ayton was welcomed to the Trail Blazers on Friday, as seen on their socials. This makes it seem like the team has plans to keep him around to pair him with Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons. 

The Trail Blazers are very clearly building through Henderson and Sharpe, 19- and 20-year-olds. Even Simons feels like an odd man out here. Ayton is 25-years-old, though, and has been the starting center in the NBA Finals. Does he really make sense in Portland when ti comes to the timeline?

The Oklahoma City Thunder is a team that is going through a rebuild but is rapidly on the way up. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also 25-years-old, coming off an All-Star and First-Team All-NBA appearance. His supporting cast of Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey and Chet Holmgren, while young, are talented enough to help Gilgeous-Alexander win now while holding high-level potential.

So, sure, Ayton might fit the Thunder timeline a bit better, but he doesn't fit the mold of a Thunder player nor does the Thunder sound ready to make a trade that takes the Thunder to a level that doesn't reach championship status.

There's much to be learned about the current iteration of this Thunder team, which is seeing real continuity for the first time of the rebuild. While Ayton might not be a perfect match when it comes to the Trail Blazers' timeline, they're also going to see how things pan out naturally instead of forcing anything too soon.

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