Deandre Ayton knows he needs to rewrite his narrative.
He went from being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft to now being plagued by questions about his maturity and motor.
He went from referring to himself as “Domin-Ayton” during his introductory press conference with the Portland Trail Blazers two years ago to being waived by them this summer after they negotiated a contract buyout.
Now, the 26-year-old has joined a Los Angeles Lakers team in free agency that had a gaping hole at the center position, and, in order for them to have any chance of being competitive in the deep Western Conference, Ayton is going to need to consistently live up to his potential for the first time in his career.
Ayton says he has learned from his stints in Phoenix (2018-2023) and Portland (2023-2025), both of which were filled with moments of his dominance as a 7-footer who can patrol the rim and has a soft touch from midrange, but eventually overshadowed by doubts around his professionalism.
Ayton has continually vacillated between being engaged and aloof. He has both wowed and disappeared in big moments.
When the Suns made the Finals in 2021, there were seven playoff games in which he had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. But in the second half in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference semifinals, former Suns coach Monty Wililams benched him. Similarly, in Portland, he frustrated Trail Blazers coach Chauncy Billups into benching him just two minutes into the second half of a game in December.
Ayton, who is the first player to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in each of his first seven seasons since Dwight Howard, knows he has a lot to prove.
He has heard the criticism and says he’s ready to use it as motivation as he attempts to amend his script alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
“It fuels me,” Ayton said. “It fuels me up completely. And it’s a different type of drive that I’ve been wanting to express for a long time. I think this is the perfect timing, here in the purple and gold. And it’s a platform that I cannot run from.”
Ayton is right.
(Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
He can’t run from the spotlight in Los Angeles, which is one of the brightest of the 30 teams in the league, something that has only increased since James, the face of the league, joined the Lakers in 2018.
Ayton had a completely different attitude during his introductory press conference with the Lakers on Tuesday than we’ve seen from him so far in his career.
He has gone from being labeled the league’s next superstar center when he joined Phoenix and thinking he was “the guy” in Portland to now openly acknowledging he’s not even sure if he’s part of a “Big Three” in Los Angeles.
“I leave that up to you guys,” Ayton said. “I’m just here to be a part of the puzzle. I’m here to fit in with Luka, JJ [Redick] ومهما كان برون يريدني أن أفعل. هذا عن ذلك “.
أشار أيتون ، الذي غاب درب بليزرز إلى مرحلة ما بعد الموسم خلال العامين الماضيين ، إلى أي مدى “يمكن نسيانك” عندما لا تكون في فريق رابح.
وهو يعتقد أن ليكرز لديها فرصة للفوز الآن. ويعتقد أنه يمكن أن يساعدهم في الوصول إلى هناك من خلال أن يكونوا حزامًا للتصوير ، ووضع شاشات قوية وتدحرج بقوة إلى الحافة.
يقول إنه على استعداد لاتخاذ التوجيه من جيمس ، وهو بطل أربع مرات. يقول إنه يشعر بسعادة غامرة من اللعب إلى جانب دونسيتش ، الذي كان الاختيار رقم 3 في فئة مسودته ، مضيفًا أنه سمع أنه “ممزق للغاية” ويشاركه في الملعب سيشعر بأنه “لعبة فيديو”.
وقال آيتون ، الذي بلغ متوسطه 14.4 نقطة و 10.2 كرة مرتدة في الموسم الماضي في 40 مباراة فقط ، إنه تعلم الكثير خلال المواسم السبعة الماضية.
عندما سئل عن أكبر الوجبات الجاهزة له ، لم يتردد.
“الاحترافية الحقيقية” ، قال أيتون. “أشعر أنني كنت غائبًا قليلاً في هذا الدوري. والعمل الشاق ، لقد كنت أحاول فقط أن أعمل أكبر قدر ممكن من العمل. عندما أكون على الأرض ، أريد حقًا أن أظهر العالم وأثبت للجميع أنني فائز”.
يحتاج ليكرز إلى مركز.
ويحتاج أيتون إلى فرصة أخرى لإظهار من يستطيع أن يصبح.
وقال “هذه فرصة لن أعتبرها أمرا مفروغا منه”.
هل تريد قصصًا رائعة تم تسليمها مباشرة إلى صندوق الوارد الخاص بك؟ قم بإنشاء أو تسجيل الدخول إلى حساب Fox Sports الخاص بك، واتبع البطولات والفرق واللاعبين لتلقي رسالة إخبارية مخصصة يوميًا!
مُستَحسَن
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