Deandre Ayton wasn’t supposed to be the Lakers’ steady hand this season. No one expected that. But 15 games in, he has become one of the Lakers’ biggest surprises of the season. He has logged in 425 minutes already, featured in 14 out of the Lakers’ 15 games. And he has quietly turned into the one interior presence the Lakers can count on every night while they wait for LeBron James to return and the rest of the roster finds its footing.
The funny part is what that number reveals. Ayton has now played more minutes for the Lakers this season than Anthony Davis has played for the Mavericks since he landed in Dallas nine months ago, which stands at 415 minutes. That wasn’t the plan for either franchise, yet here they are.
Davis played just 14 games after the trade last year. This season, he has just played five out of the Mavericks’ first 16 games. His latest issue, a left calf strain, has taken him out again. And as the absences stack up, the comparison with Ayton is getting harder to ignore.
Ayton won’t make an All-Star ballot this year, but he has been exactly what Los Angeles needed: present, efficient, and predictable. He’s averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and shooting almost 70 percent from the field. His chemistry with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves grew quickly, and Tuesday night, he started to build the same connection with LeBron, who came back with twelve assists and immediately fed Ayton in spots he loves.
Ayton may not anchor a defense the way Davis can when he’s right, but he shows up, he finishes plays, and he runs the floor. Availability has been half the battle for the Lakers early.
Davis, when healthy, is still productive, averaging 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 52.0% from the field. Those numbers aren’t the problem. The problem is that Dallas has fallen to 4–12 with the second-worst offense in the league, and the team can’t string together more than a day or two of stability.
They can’t build anything when the star they bet the franchise on only plays once every four or five games.
That’s why the conversation around the Mavericks has shifted.
According to Tim MacMahon, Dallas is preparing to explore an Anthony Davis trade once he gets healthy enough to create a real market. The long-term plan revolves around rookie Cooper Flagg. Betting on a 19-year-old doesn’t fit with trying to maximize the final good years of a 32-year-old big man who hasn’t been consistently available in years.
Teams are already lining up. Miami has the assets. New York loves a blockbuster. Chicago is the sentimental option. Detroit is the emerging sleeper. And Golden State is the big one, though any Warriors offer probably starts with Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green.
Dallas keeps saying Davis will be around, but everything happening on the court points in the other direction. The offense is broken. The roster has no rhythm. Nico Harrison is gone. And the season feels like it’s slipping out of their hands.
Meanwhile, Ayton is one of the most dependable players on a top-four team in the West. This isn’t about peak vs. peak. It’s about right now.
And right now, the gap in availability between Ayton and Davis is wide enough to define two franchises headed in completely opposite directions.
