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On Sunday night, Deandre Ayton was officially announced as the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers after the 26-year-old center finalized a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers a week ago. Ayton is coming in to be the Lakers' new starting center after they finished last season with Jaxson Hayes (not a starting-caliber big) getting benched by head coach JJ Redick, and in a playoff matchup against the supersized Minnesota Timberwolves, no less.
Addressing the center position was a major necessity for the Lakers, and it looked as though the best options on the market were either flying off the free-agent market or were too expensive to acquire via trade. But after Ayton was bought out by the Blazers, there was simply too much noise linking the former first overall pick to the Lakers — and now, he'll be teaming up with Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Ayton is not coming in without his fair share of issues, but for the price, the Lakers could not have done any better. And at the very least, Lakers president and general manager Rob Pelinka believes in what the 26-year-old brings to the table.
“Acquiring a starting-caliber center was the top priority for us this offseason, and we believe Deandre is an amazing solution to that objective and is an ideal player to add to our current core,” Pelinka said in the press release of Ayton's signing, via Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation.
“Deandre's size, mobility and athleticism will allow both paint scoring and paint protection. Deandre's playoff experience as a starter on an NBA Finals team also aligns well with our ultimate Lakers championship aspirations.”
Now that they have acquired their starting center, the Lakers can now focus their efforts on acquiring another 3-and-D wing after losing Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency.
Deandre Ayton should be rejuvenated with the Lakers
Over the past two seasons, Ayton hasn't exactly been playing for anything, which perhaps contributed to the lethargic effort and the poor reviews he drew from anonymous sources. But when he was playing for a contending Phoenix Suns team and had the veteran leadership of Chris Paul helping him lock in, Ayton was at his best and nearly was the starting center on a championship squad.
James won't take well to stretches of bad effort from Ayton, so at the very least, the 26-year-old will have a Paul-like figure in the Lakers locker room that will bring out the best in him.
