Deandre Ayton was looking like a major frontcourt upgrade for the Lakers to start the season. But Blazers and Suns fans knew the story: this honeymoon phase was ending abruptly. He just has a hard time coming to terms with the disconnect between his talent and his impact, and it's haunted every stop of his NBA career.
Ayton has been frustrated by his lack of touches, even hilariously saying that he's not Clint Capela. The irony was that Capela would be a much better fit on this Lakers roster as a lob threat for Luka Doncic and a rim protector to compensate for their offensive-minded stars.
Ayton has finally come to that realization, telling Dan Woike of The Athletic that he's reevaluated his role and mindset to better fit what this team actually needs from him.
"I just started looking in the mirror and said, ‘Yo bro, … you’re not that guy. You don’t need to be on this team doing that at all. This team, you came here to be the effort guy and close out possessions, rebound. Run the damn floor hard as hell, make bigs work, make superstars work."
Deandre Ayton still has time to change the narrative
There have already been talks about how the Lakers view Ayton as a stopgap rather than their long-term solution at the center position. But if he can back up these words with actions for the Lakers' end-of-season stretch, he could change the narrative.
Blazers fans saw flashes of that player capable of making winning plays in Portland. However, those were outweighed by other times when he had a questionable motor and poor body language, largely dependent on factors like whether he was involved in the offense or whether the Blazers were playing well enough to justify the energy being expended.
Ayton was happy to join a winning situation with the Lakers, where he seemed to think he would have the best of both worlds as a key piece on a contender. While it's hard to shed that mindset as a former No. 1 overall pick with all the talent in the world, Ayton needs to realize the catch-22: teams with him as a go-to option aren't going to be very good.
That doesn't mean he can't be impactful down the stretch for the Lakers. In fact, given their lack of frontcourt depth that Rob Pelinka has continually failed to address, Ayton is one of their most important players. The fact that Ayton is owning up to his mistakes and trying to evolve from DominAyton into a glue guy is a promising step.
Regardless of Ayton's reality check, the Blazers should feel good about their decision to move on, with Donovan Clingan emerging as a building block in Portland. But this is a huge development for Ayton's career trajectory, as his stop in LA was hurting his perception around the league.