That was not the kind of start you wanted to see on opening night from Deandre Ayton. In his debut against the Golden State Warriors, Ayton looked passive, disconnected, and exactly like the player fans hoped he would not be.
His final stats read: 10 points, six rebounds, zero assists, but the major problem was not the box score. It was the body language.
“This was not a Deandre Ayton performance that gives you a whole lot of encouragement that he’s going to figure it out and be that center that they need,” Bryce Simon said on the Game Theory Podcast. “It was not reassuring or encouraging or any sort of confidence from me coming out of this one.”
It is hard to argue with that one. The Los Angeles Lakers lost 119-109, but it felt like the gap should have been way more. Ayton drifted through possessions, rarely demanding the ball or imposing himself defensively.
Lakers' biggest problem might be Ayton's passiveness
Sam Vecenie also chimed in bluntly, saying, “It was just very passive. If this was going to work, it was going to be because he ups the energy level and he ups the aggression. And it just felt the same… I think JJ [Redick] is going to have a tough time with that one.”
That word, “passive”, has followed Ayton from the Phoenix Suns to the Portland Trail Blazers, and now, to Los Angeles. For a player who was once the first overall pick and a key piece in an NBA Finals run, that is a brutal label to keep wearing.
The Lakers brought him in to stabilize their frontcourt after trading away Anthony Davis last season. With LeBron James injured and Luka Doncic shouldering the offense, Ayton was supposed to be the reliable piece inside. Instead, his first impression left fans wondering if he still has what it takes to be dominant at this stage.
At 27 years old, Ayton still looks the part of a modern big. He is athletic and technically skilled, but the passion just has not been there. It is the same story that haunted him in Portland, where “soft” became the go-to description when fans discussed him.
That is what makes this so frustrating for the Lakers. The team does not need him to dominate. They just need him to put forth some effort and care about the game more.
Ayton’s nightmare in Los Angeles is not about one bad game; it is about the feeling that nothing has changed. Thankfully, it is still extremely in the season, but if he does not flip that switch soon, the clock could be ticking on Ayton being a starting-caliber big in the NBA…or at least in purple and gold.