Deandre Ayton’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers proved to be both frustrating and short-lived. The Lakers shipped Ayton out of town after just one season, but Austin Reaves believes the criticism he received during his time in Los Angeles was a bit unfair. Reaves defended his former teammate during an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast.
“A lot of people talk s*** about DA, and kinda how he goes about the game, but when he was in a good headspace for us last year, he was top-10 big in the league,” Reaves said. “It’s just trying to manage the ups and downs. Kinda was hard. But at the end of the day, he was a good dude. Good to be around.”
There were indeed times when you could argue Ayton was playing like a top-10 big man in the NBA. The most notable instance was the Lakers’ first-round series against the Houston Rockets in the playoffs last season.
With Reaves and Luka Doncic out with injury entering the postseason, the Lakers were massive underdogs against the Rockets. Ayton was matched up against two-time All-Star Alperen Sengun and was expected to come out second-best by a wide margin. What actually happened, though, was shocking.
Ayton did a fine job of guarding Sengun for much of that series and put up solid numbers of his own. The Lakers would end up winning in six, and the 28-year-old finished the series with averages of 11.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.
Ayton’s stock rose greatly with his play against the Rockets, but came crashing down again soon after. The Lakers would face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals, and he was a no-show in that series. Ayton put up 7.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game as the Thunder swept them. This fluctuation kind of sums up his career.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick even benched Ayton at times against the Thunder, and you knew his time in Los Angeles was over. Now, he had signed with them on a two-year, $16.2 million deal in 2025 with a player option for the second year.
Ayton would pick up his $8.1 million option, but not long after, the Lakers agreed to trade him to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks. That’s not a great return, and it speaks to his value.
The Phoenix Suns had selected Ayton with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He was supposed to be the next dominant big man, but that inconsistent motor of his would prove problematic. The Suns traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2023, and they bought out his contract in 2025 because they couldn’t find a team to trade him to.
Signing with the Lakers was seen as Ayton’s last chance at relevance in the NBA. He failed to take advantage of it. It wouldn’t be a surprise now if Ayton just bounces around in the NBA. No team is going to give him a massive contract with his track record.
Someone who did get a massive deal this offseason was Ayton’s replacement, Walker Kessler. The Lakers acquired Kessler via a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz and gave him a four-year, $130 million deal. He is a massive upgrade over Ayton, and expect him to shine in Los Angeles.
