The Los Angeles Lakers finally landed a starting-caliber center in Deandre Ayton, who was shockingly bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of free agency.
Ayton was previously on an expiring $35 million price tag and Portland clearly did not view him as a building block of their future. Seeing how no teams were willing to give up assets for him, they decided to take their losses and buy him out to allow the center to find a new home where he can compete for a championship.
As a former No. 1 overall pick, Ayton has had his off-court struggles and is searching for a situation to rehab his value. During his introductory press conference, the 26-year-old detailed what he has learned so far in his seven-year career that will hopefully lead to a revitalization.
“True professionalism,” Ayton said. “I feel like I’ve just been absent for a little bit in this league. And hard work, I’ve just been trying to put in as much work as I possibly can. When I’m on the floor, I want to really just show the world and prove to everybody that I am a winner. Any position I’m in, I just want to really win and sacrifice the way I did coming into this league.”
This upcoming season is a big one for the big man as he looks to cash in on his next pay day. To get back to that $20-30 million player again, he needs to demonstrate professionalism and hard work because there is no denying how talented Ayton is offensively.
The documented issues through his first stops with the Phoenix Suns and Trail Blazers were his lack of motor and unwillingness to provide that effort on both sides of the floor. Frankly, if this opportunity alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James is not enough of a motivator, there is nothing that will put Ayton into gear.
Hopefully, forming a dynamic pick-and-roll partnership with Doncic can become a foundation for L.A. as they navigate a new era of Lakers basketball. Ayton is arguably the most talented center in the organization since Anthony Davis and he needs to be that steady force this season if L.A. wants to compete at a high level.
Deandre Ayton wanted to team with Luka Doncic
Despite Deandre Ayton’s flaws, there were plenty of playoff-caliber teams that were interested in his services. To sign Ayton at a heavily discounted price, teams were willing to take that chance and see if he could thrive in their respective systems.
But, it appears that the chance to team up with Luka Doncic on the Lakers was an opportunity that Ayton could not pass up.
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