The Los Angeles Lakers were definitely hoping that a change of scenery would be good for Deandre Ayton after signing him to a two-year deal this past summer. The Porland Trail Blazers bought out Ayton, opening the door for him to sign with a Lakers team desperate for a quality starting center.
Injuries slowed down Ayton while he was in Portland, but he also was released partly due to character concerns. While Ayton has never been a troublemaker per se, his effort and energy became an open question mark after numerous lackluster performances in the past.
Outside of an outburst in the loss to the Orlando Magic, Ayton has largely been a non-factor in Lakers’ games. He’s even started to grumble about his role, alleging that Los Angeles is trying to use him solely like Houston Rockets center Clint Capela.
Capela saw Ayton’s comments and responded to the Lakers big man on his personal Instagram account:
Clint Capela responds… pic.twitter.com/JIAaw5W7V2
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 27, 2026
Capela is a textbook pick-and-roll center who can catch lobs or grab offensive rebounds for putbacks, two things that Los Angeles need Ayton to do to be successful. Ayton seemed to embrace the dirty work during the early portion of the 2025-26 season, but he has seen a dip in production that coincides with the team’s recent struggles.
Against his former team the Phoenix Suns, Ayton went back to being nearly invisible as he recorded two points and four rebounds in the loss. He wasn’t nearly as engaged on both ends of the floor as he should have been, so head coach JJ Redick decided to close with a small-ball lineup instead.
As the season goes on, it looks more and more likely that Ayton won’t live up to the hope that the organization had for him. Process-wise, Ayton was still the best option on the table for a Los Angeles team that needed a true big man
If Ayton can’t get back to playing like he did earlier in the season, then the purple and gold are going to be in trouble the rest of the way.
Deandre Ayton upset with Lakers’ recent play but believes they can turn it around
Deandre Ayton can’t be solely to blame for the Lakers’ recent troubles as there are several things not going right. While Ayton acknowledged he’s upset with how they’ve played as of late, he still believes they can turn it around.
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