The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any blockbuster moves this summer, but they did add pieces to help Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic. One being big man Deandre Ayton after he was released by the Portland Trail Blazers.
“Free agent center Deandre Ayton has agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources told ESPN on Wednesday night. The deal includes a player option, sources said. Between Portland and L.A., Ayton will earn $34 million next season,” ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote.
Concerns about Ayton have lingered due to his past reputation as a problematic teammate. Many believed his tenure in previous destinations ended for that very reason, and some feared it could happen again.
“The word around the league is not good about Deandre Ayton... Right now he's been labeled as a diva, as a cancer in the locker room... He has to change a lot about himself or he will find his career being shortened,” ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said.
Early in the season, Ayton seemed to be silencing those narratives, but recently, calls for a trade have resurfaced as the same tendencies continue to appear.
“The Los Angeles Lakers should look to move on before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Deandre Ayton is not a starting center on a title-contending roster. The Lakers can’t suddenly expect him to lock in when the games matter most. The problems will persist, and it will ruin the season,” Lake Show Life’s Tyler Watts wrote. “Things with Ayton likely get worse before they get better. The Lakers signed up for this. This clearly won’t work. Now it is on Rob Pelinka and the front office to find an upgrade. That is easier said than done, but consider it a must.”
With just a few weeks left before the trade deadline, it’s clear this experiment has failed miserably. The Lakers had hoped to get at least a couple of productive years out of Ayton, but that now seems unlikely.
The harsh reality is that Ayton’s attitude isn’t going to cut it for any team. If playing alongside some of the best players in the league can’t help, perhaps nothing will.