Deandre Ayton's start in Los Angeles has gone just about how every Portland Trail Blazers fan expected. He was happy to have a change of scenery and play somewhere where it counts under the spotlight that comes with the Los Angeles market and historic Lakers franchise. Yet, two games into the season, it's been more of the same turbulent Ayton experience.
Yes, it's a minimal sample size, but it's already become clear that Ayton isn't the long-term answer at center for Los Angeles. NBA insider Jake Fischer recently noted this during a Blacher Report livestream.
"Deandre Ayton brought a suboptimal performance for his opening debut in a Lakers regular-season jersey, just ten points and six rebounds. I don't know how much of a legitimate upper-echelon starting-caliber production Deandre Ayton still has in his capacity, " Fischer said.
Lakers are learning a painful Deandre Ayton lesson
Ayton's contract was a reasonable value for Los Angeles, given their desperation at the center position. At the same time, he isn't the ideal partner for Luka Doncic. Because of that, Fischer adds that others around the league view this pairing as a temporary band-aid rather than a long-term solution.
"From Walker Kessler to Jalen Duren to every other center that's going to hit the open market next year, the fact that the Lakers are set to have cap space, agents and rival teams are looking at the Lakers as not having found their center of the future. Deandre Ayton is not, by any stretch, the big man pick and roll partner for the next decade."
That last point Fischer makes is crucial. Doncic has been dominating the league and could very well wind up with his first MVP trophy this season. But he's doing all of this despite the poor fit with Ayton. Dallas had the Doncic blueprint, pairing him with ideal pick-and-roll partners and lob threats that make it virtually impossible for defenses to stop. With Ayton, it's no longer a pick-your-poison situation.
Part of that is Ayton's overall lack of on-court awareness. Blake Griffin even recently said that he feels like Ayton is always in the wrong place and needs to roll to the rim more. That's the most frustrating thing about having Ayton on your team. He's talented, but doesn't apply that as much as you'd like, as he's constantly in no man's land on both sides of the ball.
As a former No. 1 overall pick, many closely monitored Ayton's career trajectory to see if he could ever unlock that untapped potential. But at 27 years old and three teams later, it's apparent that this is simply the player he is. No one is able to fix the lack of intention he plays with on the court, and Los Angeles is already realizing that's why Portland was so willing to move on despite one year remaining on his contract.