Removing dead weight from the roster should be among the Los Angeles Lakers’ top priorities moving forward.
Surrounding Luka Doncic with ideal, championship-caliber contributors is, without a doubt, a recipe for success for the storied Western Conference franchise.
In Lake Show Life’s Tyler Watts opinion, the Lakers should consider moving on from an unmotivated veteran center after less than two seasons.
“Ayton was always a short-term fix for the Lakers at the five, but fans didn’t expect it to be this short,” Watts wrote Sunday. “He is already getting benched in key moments and hurting the team with his lack of effort and production. This repeats the pattern fans saw in Phoenix (Suns) and Portland (Trail Blazers) before DA arrived in LA.”
“Los Angeles wants a rim-rolling big man capable of protecting the rim and cleaning the glass to play off number 77. Luka makes Jaxson Hayes look good. Imagine what he can do with an elite two-way talent.”
“Ayton has an $8.1 million player option for next season. The Lakers will try to trade him if he opts in. The fit simply isn’t there. Ayton may be ruining his final chance to be a starting center in the NBA, but his inconsistency is maddening. Expect him to be on a different team when training camp rolls around again.”
There’s a reason why Ayton’s signing received mixed reviews from the Lakers’ fan base. Although Ayton has exhibited flashes of brilliance in the low post throughout his career, he has an unfortunate reputation for taking plays off and not giving maximum effort nightly.
Ayton is contributing 13.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting 66.2% from the field in 39 outings.
Simply put, the Lakers can do much better than Ayton in the frontcourt, making it logical for them to wash their hands with the former Suns big man as soon as possible.
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