The Los Angeles Lakers finally have their starting center. In a stroke of luck (or bad luck?), Deandre Ayton was bought out of his expiring contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. That allowed him to sign a two-year, $16.6 million deal in LA, where he joins fellow 2018 draftee Luka Dončić.
That is good value for a player with Ayton's immense talent. He has been to the NBA Finals once already and the surface-level numbers pop — 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 58.3 percent true shooting last season. Even those were somewhat muted by Ayton's standards and he figures to look better with an elite point guard like Dončić setting the table. There's a reason Ayton's best years came when Chris Paul was feeding him clean looks.
And yet, despite the Ayton signing looking mostly fine on paper — Ayton is definitely better than Jaxson Hayes — not everyone believes this partnership will end well. In fact, one bitter ex-Phoenix Suns staffer expressed extreme skepticism to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, as he relayed on the Hoop Collective podcast.
"I talked to a couple people yesterday about Deandre Ayton," MacMahon said (h/t Bleacher Report). "I talked to one former Phoenix staffer, one former Portland staffer. And the former Phoenix staffer is like, 'This is not going to work. He's going to do his little half roll thing, Luka's going to get fed up with him. JJ Redick is going to get driven crazy. This is going to be a disaster."
Former Suns staffer predicts 'disaster' with Deandre Ayton in Phoenix
There is absolute truth to the above statement — or at least, the sentiment is understandable. Ayton in general is a maddening player to watch. He is one of the most physically gifted players in the NBA, and yet he seldom uses those gifts to their full effect. He avoids contact as a finisher and he is frequently lazy on defense, with a motor that runs cold for extended periods of time.
The Lakers' defense was a problem in the playoffs. Ayton won't really help. Hayes' lack of strength and discipline was a huge limiting factor, but Ayton is less of a shot-blocker and he tends to let backdoor cutters fall through the cracks. He does rebound well, to his credit, but the Lakers' turnstile perimeter defense and lack of genuine rim deterrence is going to cause problems, even if the offense is explosive.
Ayton should put up numbers on offense. Dončić will demand double teams and deliver pinpoint passes to Ayton on the roll or in the post. But therein lies the problem. Ayton is not the sort of run-jump-lob threat we've seen Dončić thrive alongside in the past. That's not to say Ayton cannot run, jump or catch lobs, but he often chooses not to, instead flowing into a short mid-range jumper or a post-up. He's efficient around the rim, with a titanic frame and soft touch, but Ayton's unwillingness to fully embrace his brute-force strength and explosiveness can lead to aggravation.
Maybe Ayton finally buys into a more streamlined and focused role, but "buying into a role" has never been high on Ayton's priority list. I think some of the hand-wringing boils down to a lack of imagination — Ayton is, in his own way, a good interior scorer, and there are plenty of advantages to be gleaned from working out of two-man actions with Dončić, even if Ayton isn't diving straight to the cup. That said, Ayton's decision-making is often less than ideal, and it's generally best to be a quick, purposeful play-finisher next to Dončić and LeBron James. Ayton's freewheeling post-ups won't quite fit the vibe.
JJ Redick is a fiery head coach who preaches a commitment to detail, so yeah, there's potential for fireworks with Ayton. This contract poses very little risk at such a low number, but Ayton does not feel like a surefire hit for the Lakers. In fact, Los Angeles should be actively exploring contingency plans, just in case.