Al Horford might not have necessarily been at his best in his Golden State Warriors debut on Tuesday night, but he certainly didn’t standout for all the wrong reasons in a way you could say about Deandre Ayton.
Ayton’s debut for the Los Angeles Lakers certainly didn’t go according to plan, leading to significant criticism of the former No. 1 overall pick and quickly justifying why the Warriors were right to focus their attention on Horford as a free agent this offseason.
Warriors were smart to avoid Deandre Ayton as a free agent
Ayton played nearly 34 minutes as the starting center on opening night, but posted just 10 points and six rebounds in an underwhelming display. He took only seven field-goal attempts and committed four turnovers, having proven unable to take advantage of his size against a smaller Golden State defense.
He was repeatedly stripped on entry passes into the post, failed to build what should be an obvious pick-and-roll chemistry with superstar Luka Doncic, and was largely non-existent on defense in what remains a stark contrast to the Lakers’ previous days with Anthony Davis.
The 27-year-old drew ferocious criticism from fans and analysts alike for his performance, including from legendary Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal who was less than impressed during his comments on Inside the NBA on Wednesday.
“We need you brother, we need you to step it up. That performance you had yesterday was terrible, come on, Deandre, you gotta step it up,” O’Neal said. “I need you to step it up my boy. You got to do three things. You got to rebound and you got to block shots and you got to dominate.”
Ayton suddenly became a free agent when he was bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers in late June, with suggestions that Golden State could chase the seven-footer to address their own center issues.
The Warriors instead focused their energy on Horford who, despite entering year 19 at 39-years-old, is set to offer far more consistent two-way impact and who provides a savvy veteran experience that Ayton clearly doesn’t have.
Horford also came cheaper than Ayton, having signed a two-year, $12 million deal following Jonathan Kuminga’s elongated free agency process. Ayton meanwhile is on a two-year, $16.2 million, with both centers holding player options for next season.
The Warriors must be thankful they’ve got Horford on their championship-aspiring roster, while the Lakers are stuck with a player who has regularly struggled to live up to the expectations of such a high draft pick.
