The Portland Trail Blazers bought out Deandre Ayton this past summer, getting him to forfeit $10 million of his salary for this 2025-26 season in the process. It was a somewhat polarizing decision. Portland hoped Ayton would benefit from a change of scenery after a relatively underwhelming stint with the Phoenix Suns. That wasn't the case, as it was more of the up-and-down "Deandre Ayton experience".
But all things considered, he wasn't bad. Ayton averaged a double-double both seasons in Portland, giving them a viable starting-level center. The Blazers also entered this season with aspirations to make, at the very least, a play-in spot. Keeping Ayton around would've helped in that regard, especially since Portland can't rely on their other frontcourt options outside of Donovan Clingan. Yang Hansen remains a major project, Robert Williams III has an extensive injury history, and Duop Reath has struggled to crack Tiago Splitter's rotation.
Donovan Clingan is thriving while Deandre Ayton struggles with Lakers
Still, this decision was essentially to prioritize Clingan, giving him that increased role and minutes that he proved worthy of in an All-Rookie campaign. That decision looks even better as Clingan proves that his ceiling is higher than many gave him credit for coming out of UConn. He's even knocking down threes now, connecting on an impressive 34.4% of his attempts from beyond the arc this season.
Meanwhile, Ayton's situation with the Lakers is trending in the opposite direction. He played well to start the season, looking energized by his fresh start playing "somewhere where it counts," as he said at Lakers Media Day.
But that honeymoon phase is officially over.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has now benched Ayton in multiple games. In a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Redick went with Jaxson Hayes in the fourth quarter, simply saying, "he was playing better." Then, in the second quarter of a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, Ayton was immediately benched by Redick for his lack of hustle and effort.
Ayton now has a short leash with his head coach growing tired of his antics. Redick has even noted that he thought Ayton was frustrated because the big man wasn't getting enough touches on offense. That's going to happen when you have a trio of offensive stars in LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves.
Someone you never have to worry about letting their offensive role dictate their defensive effort is Donovan Clingan. Portland's new starting center is the exact opposite -- someone who is willing to do the intangibles and whatever it takes for his team to win. There's a reason he won back-to-back NCAA national championships, after all.
The drastic difference in attitude alone has been night and day for Portland. And while Ayton may be more talented than their other frontcourt options, there's an opportunity cost of keeping him around that they no longer have to pay.
Portland is better off with Clingan, and just Clingan.