After being traded away from the Phoenix Suns and waived by the Portland Trail Blazers, former No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton got another fresh start with the Los Angeles Lakers when he signed a two-year contract last summer.
Unfortunately for both Ayton and the Lakers, his first season in LA was met largely with frustration from both parties. Back in early January, Lakers coach JJ Redick said that his big man was “frustrated” and that “he doesn’t feel like he’s getting the ball.” Things snowballed from there as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported in February that the Lakers training staff, in an attempt to motivate Ayton to play better, put a “Space Jam”-esque message on his water bottles labeling them “DA’s Crunk Juice — Drink this to unleash the beast.”
Suns fans know all too well how difficult it appears to be for coaching staffs to motivate Ayton to be locked in on a game-to-game or even possession-to-possession basis. But that reporting was also accompanied by revelations that Ayton said, "They're trying to make me Clint Capela,” according to McMenamin. “I’m not no Clint Capela.”
Those quotes went viral in NBA circles and even prompted former Suns front office member Amin Elhassan to criticize Ayton by saying in part, “You wish you were Capela.”
Fast-forward to April when Redick again was critical of his starting center, saying that Ayton “just hasn’t been able to catch the ball” despite the coaches calling plays for him to get him more involved in the offense to keep him happy.
Just like the Suns, the Lakers’ season ended in a sweep at the hands of the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Ayton weighed in on his season spent at least partially at odds with his new coaches.
Deandre Ayton claims he made ‘a lot of sacrifices’ with Lakers
When asked how he felt his first season in Purple and Gold went for him, Ayton said it was a “very humbling experience” and that he made “a lot of sacrifices.”
“I came in here with a scorer’s mentality and we don’t really need that,” Ayton added.
Why Ayton felt that he’d be a go-to scoring option on a team that already featured both scoring leader Luka Doncic and all-time great LeBron James certainly shows the disconnect Ayton had compared to the Lakers’ expectations for him entering the year.
“I tiny bit had to break down my game where it’s just rebounding and defending the rim is what the team wanted,” he said. “It’s not what I want, but it’s what the team wanted to do to progress to wins.”
Still just 27-years-old (he’ll turn 28 in July), Ayton has a player option for next season with the Lakers that would pay him $8.1 million if he chooses to exercise it.
The question heading into the offseason now becomes what Ayton wants for himself. If being more of a rim protector and rebounder is not what he wants, perhaps he’d turn down the player option and look elsewhere for a new NBA home.
But given all the headaches he seemed to cause once again in LA, it’s unlikely that he’d garner a more favorable contract even on a one-year “prove it” deal.
Everything else being equal, Ayton would most likely have to sign elsewhere if he wants to be featured more as a go-to scorer. It will be interesting to see if the Ayton-Lakers pairing goes beyond what was clearly a frustrating year for the former top draft choice. Redick and the Lakers learned, time and time again, what Suns fans have long known.
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