Deandre Ayton has heard the chatter about the player he is and he’s ready to let his play do the talking with the Lakers.
The Lakers adding Deandre Ayton wasn’t a realsitic idea even a couple of months ago, but the NBA changes in a flash. The seven-year veteran asked for a buyout because of his desire to play in a “winning situation” and L.A. was able to get a starting center without using any assets.
However, there’s a reason Ayton didn’t have many suitors. The Suns, who drafted him with the No. 1 pick back in 2018, gave up on him a couple of years ago, and two seasons with the Blazers didn’t exactly make that decision look like a bad move.
Yes, Ayton has talent and is a walking double-double, but there have been issues with his desire to be great. As he enters a new era in his career in Los Angeles, questions about his play still surround him.
During his introductory press conference this week, Ayton didn’t shy away from the criticism of his game. Instead, he explained how it is a motivating factor for him.
“It fuels me completely,” Ayton said. “It’s a different type of drive that I’ve been wanting to express for a long time. I think this is the perfect timing, here in the purple and gold. It’s a platform that I cannot run from. I can show what I really am and just be around some greats to really emphasize that for me as well. There is a lot of fuel in me to prove the world wrong.”
Ayton is right that he can’t run away from the spotlight as a Laker.
This franchise is watched more than any other NBA team. The Lakers will almost certainly have most of their games on national TV. If L.A. struggles, fans will be critiquing every mediocre screen, each feeble attempt at grabbing a rebound and analyzing his body language and basing their takes on his production.
The pressure will either turn him back into a player teams covet, or he will crumble and continue bouncing around the league.
Ayton’s self-awareness and desire to do the former are encouraging. Sure, it might just be chatter, but in July, talk is all we have. It’s better that he’s at least saying the right thing, knows what’s been said about him and is ready to get to work.
Perhaps in this new environment, paired with LeBron James and Luka Dončić, Ayton will get him back to full form and the Lakers can count this deal as their biggest victory of the offseason.
A dominant vertical lob threat was lacking last season for L.A., and it ended their playoff run early. If Ayton is ready to start DominAyton, then the Lakers will be playing games during the summer next year and he can really silence his critics.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.