Shams Wow: Ayton signs 2 year deal with Lakers

[andalusian]

DA is fine as long as you forget he was a #1 pick and was paid the max. He is a starting caliber center - for what the Lakers pay him, he is a great addition.

What he will not be able to do is mask the Lakers defensive liabilities, so they are still suspect as a post season team

[cupcakesnake]

If Ayton can't generate rim pressure next to Luka (and Lebron), then he's as bad as his detractors think he is.
There's no better chance than this to score a bajillion points.

Ayton has famously avoided any kind of fight at the rim, so let's see how he does with wide open alley-oops.

Whether or not he can prove 2021 wasn't a mirage on defense is the bigger question to me.

[SlimShady83]

If Ayton can't generate rim pressure next to Luka (and Lebron), then he's as bad as his detractors think he is.
There's no better chance than this to score a bajillion points.

Ayton has famously avoided any kind of fight at the rim, so let's see how he does with wide open alley-oops.

Whether or not he can prove 2021 wasn't a mirage on defense is the bigger question to me.

My Predction stats: Just for Ayton alone no one else. 20pts (maybe 25), 12 reb, 4-5 asts, 1-2 blks.

His going to be motivated and has stated he wants to be on a winning team, look what Luka did to Hayes in half a season, imagine what he can do with Ayton full seaon

[dirkdiggler4177]

Look at this rebounding against Jokic. It will be an interesting season for the Lakers.

Watch on YouTube

[Michael Jackson]

He's an upgrade purely on talent, but JJ and Ayton are gonna butt heads bad. JJ is a hardass like Monty Williams was, he's gonna be hard on Ayton and Atyon is gonna check tf out. The second Ayton half asses a few defensive plays (and he ABSOLUTELY will), JJ will tear into him... so we'll see how good this fit is in 2026... but don't be surprised if its messy by then.

Oh, there will be friction, but I think Ayton will be all right in the main because he's going to be thriving offensively. I think when he's getting his touches and looking good on O, it'll smooth over a lot.

I could be wrong, but that is, I imagine, the basic hope. Especially if they're winning instead of being a garbage squad like the Blazers of the past half-decade.

Winning cures all.

[chilluminati]

Look at this rebounding against Jokic. It will be an interesting season for the Lakers.

Watch on YouTube

Lmao, talk about pissing on the legacy of actual good Lakers. Lakers delusion is real. Bynum slotted between Kareem and Wilt is insanity.

[kaansunman]

It will be Kwame Brown vol 2.0 for the Lakers

[Liam_Gallagher]

Just a couple months ago people were contemplating whether or not Reaves for Ayton was a good trade. Now they got him essentially for Finney-Smith.

G - Doncic/Vincent
G - Reaves/Knecht
F - James/LaRavia
F - Hachimura/Vanderbilt
C - Ayton/filler

If they can trade Knecht and Vanderbilt for Josh Green, they're set.

Or Knecht, Vincent, and Vanderbilt for Marcus Smart and Justin Champagnie.

[Big_Aristotle]

Meh... considering his lack of effort in the past, I have no high hopes for this. But considering the remaining centers on the market and what contracts others got, this is the best the Lakers could have hoped for given the amount of dollars involved.

[Liam_Gallagher]

It will be Kwame Brown vol 2.0 for the Lakers

Not at all. Kwame was horrendous in every aspect, and was traded for an all-star (Caron Butler). Ayton is the definition of consistent. He'll be absolutely feasting with Luka and LBJ.

[hugepatsfan]

The issue with Ayton isn't overall talent or level of play. It's the things he shows effort for doing vs. the things he doesn't. So far in his career he's bene feigning to play at a role in the offensive hierarchy that he simply isn't good enough for. He doesn't seem interested in doing the dirty work, which is what a player of his caliber is going to be asked to do.

He won't be the first guy to recognize that and change his mindset if he does do that, so it's a fine gamble for LAL. But the player he is or that he has been isn't really a good fit IMO.

[dirkdiggler4177]

Just a couple months ago people were contemplating whether or not Reaves for Ayton was a good trade. Now they got him essentially for Finney-Smith.

G - Doncic/Vincent
G - Reaves/Knecht
F - James/LaRavia
F - Hachimura/Vanderbilt
C - Ayton/filler

If they can trade Knecht and Vanderbilt for Josh Green, they're set.

Or Knecht, Vincent, and Vanderbilt for Marcus Smart and Justin Champagnie.

Who the hell was talking about trading Reaves for Ayton?

[ball_takes23]

Just a couple months ago people were contemplating whether or not Reaves for Ayton was a good trade. Now they got him essentially for Finney-Smith.

G - Doncic/Vincent
G - Reaves/Knecht
F - James/LaRavia
F - Hachimura/Vanderbilt
C - Ayton/filler

If they can trade Knecht and Vanderbilt for Josh Green, they're set.

Or Knecht, Vincent, and Vanderbilt for Marcus Smart and Justin Champagnie.

Who the hell was talking about trading Reaves for Ayton?

Not Reaves but Rui would have probably been gone to match salary

[tsherkin]

Winning cures all.

Just so.

It will be Kwame Brown vol 2.0 for the Lakers

No, that's violently inaccurate. Kwame had horrible hands and was a terrible lob threat, and he had trouble controlling the ball in the post. He also sucked at the line.

Ayton, on the other hand, is about a 76% shooter from the line on his career, is an EXCELLENT lob threat and synergizes very well with the main playmakers on the team. This is a horrible, horrible comparison. Kwame TOPPED OUT at 10.9 ppg, remember, because he was so limited and problematic.

[Optms]

Whats funny is the Lakers think this helps them

how does it not help them? is he not miles better than Jaxon Hayes or DFS at Center?

Hayes was so bad he didn't even see the floor vs the Wolves.

Lakers actually have a legitimate center now. No one is saying he's perfect but we'll take it on the fact that we didn't even have a center last season.

[magee]

Considering his engagement involved getting the rock handed to him on a platter and given that is exactly how Luka can provide said service, this could be exactly what each player needs.

Now if that goes south, it'll be because Ayton mopes around after Luka lays into him for not doing what is needed to be done.

It's more than likely going south. We shall see!

[WiggOuts]

Given how few whistles DA has gotten over his career, you could probably put him in the same bucket as not well liked by refs then I guess? And considering how many middies and away from the basket attempts DA takes, it isn't some magnificent difference between Woods and DA when we're talking about their shot profile. The idea of Woods being playing more away from the basketball because he can shoot 3's and can create in space does paint a picture that he's shooting more often and further away from the basketball than DA but in reality, they are closer than you think.

Last 3 seasons, Woods took 30.2% of his FGA within 3ft of the basket. In that same time frame, DA was 29.9%. From 3-10ft, Woods took 21.1% of his attempts from there whereas DA took 31.8%. From 10-16ft, Woods was at 5% whereas DA was 23.5%. What % of their FG's were dunks? Woods was at 13.1%, DA 13.4%. DA was more efficient than Woods and I do expect his shot profile to look more like a traditional lob threat big man (ie between 2020-2022) but he's also gonna go to where he's comfortable which are those fadeaways, middy's and jump hooks; shot types that are usually not conducive to drawing fouls.

Interesting, I appreciate the stat breakdown. Off of the eye test I would not have guessed it would be so close, I tip my hat to you.

The only thing I can hold onto here is that Ayton hasnt been on a good team over that 3 year span which will also influence the calls you get but I'm kind of moving the goal posts here

To your point, I can absolutely see him getting to the line north of 4 attempts per game with ease, its literally getting fouled one more time...and I absolutely would point my finger at Laker privilege as the reason. Tbh I'd expect it to go a little higher than that. If you could bet on that I bet the odds would be pretty high

DA played his best, most impactful basketball alongside Chris Paul. We turned him into a versatile defensive C who just finishes. Essentially we took away those self creation he was working on in the first few seasons in order to simplify his game to one that made him more efficient and made the most impact on both ends of the court. If he was happy to be that guy and played with a consistent level of intensity, there's no doubt he would've stuck around in Phoenix. The problem is he fancied himself to be more than that and I don't blame him as a former #1 pick who does have some offensive skills. But the more we involved him in the offense, the more and more he went to what he felt comfortable with and that's avoiding the contact and shooting away from the basket. And as his efficiency fell because the steady diet of lob dunks and finishes around the basket changed to shooting more self created midrangers, more fadeaways etc, he was also wanting more of those kinds of touches which hurt offensive flow.

Over 8 years of basketball, you can see the type of shots he wants to take and is comfortable taking. And those shots aren't conducive to getting calls. Refs aren't being put into a position where they even have to give him the benefit of the doubt due to contact because there's rarely contact where he's taking his shots. Like, if you have a game where you regularly seek contact, there will be a whistle multiplier just by putting on the LA jersey. But if that isn't your game, what whistle is there? You look at Jaxon Hayes last season playing 55 games, he had 3 games the entire season where he had more than 5 FTA. In DA's first season with Portland where he played 56 games (so similar numbers), how many games did he have the entire season where he had more than 5 FTA? The exact same number (3). Hayes is also a far lower usage guy and he's basically played the DA role already.

The LA whistle is a real factor if getting to the line is a major part of your game and you force the refs to make a call. The thing with DA is that his low FTr isn't some consequence of playing for a bad team. It's a feature of his game and that goes back to his college days where he had a pretty low FTr for a high usage guy, and it was lower than his peers like Bamba, JJJr and Bagley. At the end of the day, that is who he is. Will he benefit from some calls that he wouldn't have gotten before if he wasn't a Laker? Yeah probably but is he going to more than double his FTAs? Will he even get enough touches to draw that many fouls?

Fair enough. Your stance is legit. I still believe that there will be an increase regardless, he'll be playing with Luka now who will definitely get him playing closer to how he did with CP. Lukas big become pnr lob threat and that will put him at the net far more.

You say his style of play will dictate how often he's at the line because he wants to be further away from the basket naturally. I say the Luka factor will reverse that to a degree but just wearing the Lakers jersey will have him getting more calls then ever before. I guess we can only wait and see what happens

[enigmatics]

Winning cures all.

Just so.

It will be Kwame Brown vol 2.0 for the Lakers

No, that's violently inaccurate. Kwame had horrible hands and was a terrible lob threat, and he had trouble controlling the ball in the post. He also sucked at the line.

Ayton, on the other hand, is about a 76% shooter from the line on his career, is an EXCELLENT lob threat and synergizes very well with the main playmakers on the team. This is a horrible, horrible comparison. Kwame TOPPED OUT at 10.9 ppg, remember, because he was so limited and problematic.

Seriously where are you guys getting this "lob threat" stuff from?

He has never played that way albeit had that awesome Valley Oop moment in 2021's playoffs. He's a middie jump shooting big man.

[tsherkin]

Seriously where are you guys getting this "lob threat" stuff from?

He has never played that way albeit had that awesome Valley Oop moment in 2021's playoffs. He's a middie jump shooting big man.

1) It's not a definition of his entire game, just a component thereof.
2) 2 of his 3 seasons with 100+ dunks came with Chris Paul, as did his 2 most efficient seasons...
3) He started banging middies and long twos a lot more from 2023 forward
4) In 2025, he was 7th in the league in volume of possessions as a roll man, and didn't shoot 58% on just jumpers

The capacity is there. Losing Chris Paul first to injury and then to other teams hurt. Ayton, however, is an excellent PnR player.

No one thinks of him as DeAndre Jordan or Derek Lively, but he's a high-quality PnR big.

[Mamba Mentality]

This might be the most divisive player acquisition thread I've ever seen on realgm.