Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton has reached a career crossroads. Faced with declining minutes and a questionable fit, Ayton must decide if he's willing to sacrifice for a role that doesn't perfectly suit him for the sake of his team's grander ambitions.
If Ayton buys in, then the Lakers may just shock the Western Conference. If he doesn't, then the team will struggle to find value in his place and the playoffs could create a narrative—whether fair or foul—suggesting he's unwilling to sacrifice for his team.
Ayton has turned in a solid individual debut season with the Lakers, recording averages of 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 offensive boards, and 0.9 blocks in 27.1 minutes per game. He's shooting 66.7 percent from the field and has turned in a number of monster performances.
Unfortunately, Ayton's reported criticism of the role he's been asked to play aligns with the disappointing fact that his impact on team success has been lackluster.
Los Angeles is currently being outscored by 2.4 points per 100 possessions when Ayton is on the court. It's outscoring opponents by 3.3 when he isn't, thus bringing the swing in net rating to 5.7 points per 100 possessions—a damning figure for a team with a net rating of just 0.6.
With this in mind, the Lakers need Ayton to decide if he's going to buy in and accept what he's been offered or if he'll instead fixate on the elements of his role that he isn't fond of.
Deandre Ayton must decide if he's willing to buy in to Lakers' vision
It'd be one thing if the Lakers were simply playing better without Ayton than with him. He could make relatively general improvements and adjustments that would enable him to settle in and secure more playing time due to his personal buy-in.
What raises the most significant red flag, however, is the fact that Ayton isn't just struggling to fit with the team—he's looking like the wrong center to have alongside franchise player Luka Doncic.
Thus far in 2025-26, the Lakers rank in the 40th percentile in net rating at -2.6 across the 2,166 possessions during which Ayton and Doncic have been on the court together. Los Angeles places in the 92nd percentile at +10.2 across the 1,650 possessions during which Doncic has been on the court without Ayton.
To make matters worse, Doncic is averaging 4.3 more points per 75 possessions while improving his true shooting percentage by 3.1 percent and his three-point field goal percentage by 5.3 percent when Ayton isn't on the court.
Whether fair or foul, any team with a true franchise player will base its roster decisions on how their players fit with said superstar. The Lakers will be no exception, as Ayton's future will be decided in large part by whether or not he can finally click with Doncic.
For the sake of the Lakers' lack of depth at center and his own potentially pending free agency, one can only hope that Ayton will decide to buy in despite his current role not being his preferred style of play.