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EspañolThis summer, the Lakers knew they needed to get a center to pair with Luka Doncic, someone who could set a big pick, roll hard to the rim and draw defenders, has good hands, and can protect the rim on defense. The Lakers got the best available free agent on the market in DeAndre Ayton, the former No. 1 pick (selected two spots in front of Doncic). Whether Ayton could or would fill the role the Lakers needed was a legitimate question.
It's still a question, 57 games into the regular season.
Ayton had a big night in the Lakers' ugly loss to the Magic on Tuesday, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, and he was on the court at the end of the game (something that has not always been the case). Ayton tried against the physical front line of Orlando, but Wendell Carter Jr. had 20 points and 11 rebounds going against him, and the Lakers lost both the rebounding and points-in-the-paint battles (Ayton was a -2 for the game). On the much-discussed final play, Ayton did his job and set a strong pick on Orlando's Anthony Black, which gave Doncic the space to take a potential game-winning three, but he passed it up, threw a grenade to LeBron James, who threw up a desperate step-back 3 that missed, and the Lakers lost at home.
When asked about his performance postgame, things got weird, reports Dave McMenamin at ESPN.
"The ball finds energy," Ayton told reporters. "They believe in me when I'm down there and sealing and they see me running hard to the rim and crashing, they reward me."...
When he was finished speaking to the group, Ayton made his way back toward the showers and said what he really felt -- loud enough for anyone still in the locker room to hear.
"They're trying to make me Clint Capela," Ayton said, referring to the Houston Rockets' now backup center, who a decade ago made his impact as a lob-catching, rim-running big on a team that made it to two conference finals.
"I'm not no Clint Capela!"
From the moment he entered the league, Ayton wanted to be more of an offensive hub for teams. The challenge is that in a modern, floor-spaced NBA, the offense can't run efficiently through a traditional center (it works if that center is Nikola Jokic or Victor Wembanyama, or even a healthy Joel Embiid, but Ayton is not those players).
Ayton is not the Lakers' long-term answer at the five next to Doncic, that has become clear this season. The role Ayton wants to play (even if he did it consistently, which is another issue) does not mesh with what the Lakers need as they built out a roster around Doncic and Austin Reaves (who they are expected to re-sign this summer). It's a clash of styles. That said, Ayton has an $8.1 million player option for next season, which he is widely expected to pick up.
What the Lakers could use at the five is someone like peak Clint Capela.