This time last year, Los Angeles Lakers fans were celebrating the Deandre Ayton signing. It was the ideal prove-it opportunity for him, but he didn't deliver the way the team needed, so here we are, a year later, digesting the staggering Walker Kessler sign-and-trade.
Ayton picked up his $8.1 million player option for next season, as expected, so for a couple of days, he was still slotted in as the Lakers' starting center for 2026-27. Los Angeles met with Kessler and Jalen Duren after free agency officially began yesterday, but both still seemed a bit out of reach due to their restricted free-agent status.
Well, that's no longer the case. The Lakers agreed to pay a high price for Kessler, but it was a gamble they needed to make, not just to make Luka Dončić happy, but also because they genuinely needed a quality starting center. Ayton didn't fit that description.
If he is still in LA by the time next season starts, he will be coming off the bench as the team's backup five, which could actually be a good thing for the Lakers, but Ayton may not feel the same way.
Kessler is the Lakers' new starting center, pushing Ayton to the bench
Putting the cost aside, replacing Ayton with Kessler is a no-brainer move. The soon-to-be 25-year-old is a far more ideal pick-and-roll partner for Dončić, and he's one of the best interior defenders and rebounders in the league. He fits the bill of what Los Angeles was looking for.
The Ayton signing was a question mark for the Lakers from the moment it happened. They weren't banking their future on him, not in the way they just did with Kessler. If it worked out, great, but if not, LA wouldn't set the organization back, even with his player option.
He had his encouraging moments in his first season in LA, but not nearly enough to prove he's the center of the Lakers' future. Again, that situation playing out was always going to be a stretch. Ayton had the power to try to change that himself, so if he is feeling slighted about the Kessler trade, he shouldn't blame the team.
Coming off the bench could actually benefit his career if the Lakers do want to keep him around. There could be another deal in the works involving his $8.1 million for next season. Los Angeles might've already seen everything it wanted to from him, with the Kessler trade serving as proof of that.
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