The Los Angeles Lakers took a massive gamble on bringing Deandre Ayton in to be their solution at the center position for 2025-26.
That risk comes with a necessity for Ayton evolve, and not repeat habits of old that would bring rise to a significant downside for the Lakers.
Ayton’s role for the team should be simple.
The Lakers center will be finishing opportunities created for him on the offensive end, while being the last line of defense on the other. Both of those adjustments would involve Ayton embracing something new, or otherwise out of his comfort zone.
Tim Legler noted on the ALL NBA Podcast that being a screen and roll option has not always worked out well for Ayton and his teams. The Lakers will need that fact to change.
“He’s a guy that needs the basketball,” Legler commented. “He’s not a screen dive guy. When he’s been asked to do that, he’s been miserable in his career. … He wants touches. He wants low-post touches. He wants elbow touches on pick and pops. He wants to be included.”
Lakers needs Deandre Ayton to check his ego at the door
Legler questioned how much Ayton would be ‘included’ when Luka Doncic and LeBron James dominate the ball to the capacity they do.
There was a focus on how much time out of the clock is taken up by either one of the two superstars handling the basketball.
There was concern raised by Legler in terms of whether Ayton would be capable of making the quick decisions off the ball that are required for that type of offense.
The fit of the new Lakers starting center continued to be a massive concern for the ESPN analyst.
Legler has every right to be skeptical about the situation. Even the most hopeful of Lakers fans have to be approaching the Ayton experiment with cautious optimism at best.
The former first overall pick gave room for a glimmer of hope when his introductory press conference revealed his thought process on joining the Lakers. Ayton discussed wanting a platform that he could not run from, and a chance to prove critics wrong.
If the 27-year-old really wants to turn his career around in Los Angeles, there needs to be buy-in. Ayton must understand that less is more, especially on the offensive end.
There is no need to be a star.
No one is asking for 20 and 10 on every night. There just needs to be a reliable presence at the center spot who can feed off Doncic’s superpowers. If that can be Ayton, then the terrifying thoughts about the downsides involved can quickly be quieted.
