The Los Angeles Lakers have completely revamped their roster heading into next season. LeBron James is gone, and the Lakers reshaped everything around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Walker Kessler was their big addition, highlighting a new center rotation that now excludes Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes. Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal is a big fan of that change.
“It’s only one great center and a lot of good centers,” O’Neal told Heavy on Lakers. “I don’t know what the Lakers offense is gonna look like yet, but you got guys … they can do a lot of stuff around the rim, unlike ‘Dominayton,’ who didn’t do anything.”
Clearly, O’Neal was not a huge fan of Ayton, and it’s safe to say that a lot of Lakers fans would agree with his assessment of the situation. He likes Kessler, he likes the guys behind him, and he did not like Ayton.
Shaquille O'Neal did not like Deandre Ayton but likes Walker Kessler
When the Lakers signed Ayton in free agency last summer, it was pretty widely viewed as a solid swing move. LA was hoping to help Ayton get back to the version of himself that helped the Phoenix Suns make the NBA Finals in 2021.
Unfortunately, Ayton continued struggling in the same manner he’s been struggling for the past few years. Lackluster performances, seemingly empty stats, and low energy on the court.
Ayton put up okay stats last season, but by the end of the year, there were times when JJ Redick would play Hayes over him. He just wasn’t a clear-cut starting center.
And for a first overall pick, that’s not ideal. The Lakers were Ayton’s third NBA team already, and he didn’t even stick there. The Lakers traded him to the Washington Wizards this summer, and now, he’s on his fourth team.
O’Neal was right. The Lakers desperately needed a better center than Ayton. It was one of their top priorities heading into the summer, and they did a great job of addressing it.
Kessler is a massive upgrade. As O’Neal noted, he’s a great center, which is exactly what the Lakers needed to pair alongside Doncic and Reaves moving forward.
Ayton was not the answer. It became clear very quickly that he wasn’t the answer. And now LA’s big-man rotation looks a lot better heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
O’Neal has a history of being overly harsh on today’s NBA players, but in this case, he’s saying what Lakers fans everywhere feel.
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