The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a difficult position as they begin the free agency period. They need to build a future around Luka Dončić while also supporting LeBron James’ championship aspirations in the ever-competitive Western Conference. For the Lakers, securing a center has been a top priority.
On Tuesday, that opportunity appeared to present itself when the Milwaukee Bucks signed Myles Turner, opting not to wait for Deandre Ayton to clear waivers.
“The Lakers were competing with the Bucks for Deandre Ayton, and so this leaves Deandre Ayton to go to the Lakers to be their starting center as a possible ramification of this,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said.
The concern with Ayton has never been about talent—it’s effort and attitude. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins has reported troubling whispers about Ayton’s locker room presence.
“The word around the league is not good about Deandre Ayton… right now he’s been labeled as a diva, as a cancer in the locker room… he has to change a lot about himself or he will find his career being shortened,” Perkins said.
Despite the concerns, Los Angeles moved forward and signed Ayton on Wednesday, addressing their need at center.
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“The free agent center agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night, according to a report from ESPN. He will earn $34 million next year with some of the payment coming from the Lakers and some coming from the Portland Trail Blazers, his former team,” USA Today’s Jon Hoefling wrote.
Still, questions about Ayton’s reliability remain, and that could become a concern for the Lakers.
“Hard to trust Deandre Ayton. Brings flakey effort and focus. Maybe the Lakers keep him in line, but no one’s been able to so far. Still, by far the best option on the market and they get him for cheap, so he’s easily worth the upside if you get a good stretch out of him,” NBA writer Kevin O’Connor wrote.
Only time will tell whether this move pays off. For now, the Lakers appear to have found their guy—provided his past issues don’t resurface.
