The biggest move the Los Angeles Lakers have made so far in free agency this summer is signing big man Deandre Ayton. The team’s need for a center was well known and the former No. 1 pick shockingly became available after agreeing to a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Ayton is undoubtedly a talented player who is averaging a double-double for his career, however he comes to the Lakers with a reputation of having a bad attitude and being difficult to work with. There were reports that he was sometimes late to practices and team flights and there are multiple clips of him showing his frustration at being taken out of games due to poor effort on the court.
These are certainly worrying, but the Lakers aren’t too concerned about those issues as the team believes they have the coaching staff to keep him in line, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
Team sources believe the Lakers have the right coaching staff to make that happen. In JJ Redick, they have a deadly serious head coach who also understands how to relate to players. Assistant Scott Brooks worked with Ayton in Portland two years ago, and Nate McMillan has either played or coached with or against virtually every personality type the NBA’s ever concocted. And if not, the Lakers have maintained their flexibility for next summer and beyond.
The Lakers did not make a long-term commitment to Ayton, so if it doesn’t work the team will be able to move on which does help things. But this coaching staff does have the right personalities to make this work. Redick did an excellent job of connecting with his team in his first year as a head coach and should only get better with more experience. And in Brooks and McMillan the Lakers have a pair of assistants who have seen everything there is to see in terms of dealing with potentially problematic players.
Additionally, a clip from 2022 recently emerged of Redick praising Ayton, so he was clearly a fan of the big man in the past.
But Ayton should also be motivated to prove his doubters wrong and that he isn’t a problem. He has had some big performances on the biggest of stages and playing with the Lakers alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James should bring out the best in him.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton received strong reviews from Trail Blazers GM
While the concerns about new Lakers center Deandre Ayton’s effort and motivation in Portland were real, it wasn’t all bad and he had supporters as well. One of those was Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin, who gave the big man strong reviews on Ayton’s leadership to teams who had called Portland to inquire about him.
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