Deandre Ayton stood together with his palms in his pockets, his all-black apparel — from the go well with to tie, shirt and footwear — a measured search for the most recent member of the Lakers. His eyes have been largely down as he answered questions on how he’ll match with the group and the way he’s pushed to show his naysayers incorrect.
In some ways, Ayton fell to the Lakers after he was purchased out of his contract from the Portland Path Blazers, opening the door for him to comply with a two-year, $16.6-million deal.
The 2 seasons he spent with the Path Blazers have been not so good as the time he was in Phoenix. His manufacturing dropped. The variety of video games he performed dropped.
That led to the narrative that Ayton hasn’t lived as much as his potential. That he performed constantly sufficient at a excessive stage. That he doesn’t give his finest effort on a regular basis.
When Ayton was launched to the media Tuesday, he didn’t shrink back from the criticism.
He’s a 7-foot heart who the Lakers should be at his finest always this season.
“Most definitely. It fuels me,” Ayton mentioned about criticism. “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.
“I can show what I really am and just be around some greats to really emphasize that for me as well. It is a lot of fuel in me to prove to the whole world.”
Ayton performed solely 40 video games final season for the Path Blazers, lacking numerous these due to a calf harm. He averaged 14.4 factors per sport. Throughout the 2023-24 season with Portland, he averaged 16.7 factors over 55 video games.
Each of these seasons have been wanting what Ayton did whereas with the Suns in 2022-23, when he averaged 18.0 factors and 10.0 rebounds.
Ayon was requested if the questions have been truthful about his motor.
“I feel like at the end of the day, I’m on the court and I’m supposed to perform,” he mentioned. “It’s just different routes with organizations, whether you want to win or not. I just took my route where I want to win. When it comes to wins, you play hard when you know everybody’s goal is to win. You do everything you’re supposed to do or can do to win. …
“I’ve just been trying to put in as much work as I possibly can. When I’m on the floor, I want to really just show the world and prove to everybody that I am a winner. Any position I’m in, I just want to really win and sacrifice the way I did coming into this league.”
Ayton could have Luka Doncic and LeBron James to assist push him alongside and hopefully faucet extra out of his potential.
Doncic averaged 8.1 assists per sport final season and James averaged 7.8 assists.
“They both average about nine assists over their career span, and just the type of players they create with their teammates,” Ayton mentioned. “They turn them into superstars, they make them bigger than their roles, they make them very important on the floor. Just seeing that and finally getting the chance to go in and experience that would be big for me. Just getting me back to my full form of how I used to play, you know, coming up and being a part of the [NBA] Finals. It’s those playmakers I’m used to having around me that’s leading to wins.”
The Lakers additionally launched Jake LaRavia to the media. He performed a season with the Sacramento Kings, averaging 6.9 factors, 3.9 rebounds and a couple of.4 assists. He shot 47.5% from the sphere and 42.3% from three-point vary.
