When the Los Angeles Lakers landed Walker Kessler via sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz, many fans' minds immediately went to Luka Doncic throwing lobs and Kessler blocking shots—mine did not.Â
My first reaction to this move was what Deandre Ayton's shift to a backup center role would mean for him and this Lakers team. We all know how Ayton’s first season in LA went, with the only consistent thing being the never-ending ups and downs in his play and attitude. Some nights, fans saw exactly why Ayton was once a first overall pick; other nights, they questioned why he was even on the court.
To me, the biggest contributor to the never-ending hiccups in the Lakers' Ayton era was that he was miscast as a starting center on a team with title aspirations. He was a huge part of the Phoenix Suns' second-scoring option in 2021, when they made a run to the NBA Finals.
Since then, DA’s numbers have been in steady decline. It was very clear last season that Ayton no longer provides enough to be a starter. Where he could really provide value is as a backup change-of-pace guy for the Lakers.
This is what makes their decision to trade him to the Washington Wizards for two second-round picks and Jaden Hardy so confusing. This move by Rob Pelinka has now left the Lakers without a backup center and limited resources to find one.
The Lakers didn't need to move Deandre Ayton
Obviously, Ayton wasn’t great last season. It often felt as though unless a set or play was designed to get him to score, he would disengage. There was a lot of drama that followed him, and a ton of negative media attention.
So, from the perspective of getting that out of the locker room and wiping the slate clean, I can see why the front office felt that moving on was best for both sides. That being said, with the return being as little as two second-round picks, keeping Ayton was more valuable.
There were rarely any issues with his scoring game other than occasionally settling for a jumper as opposed to an easier finish in the paint. Outside of that, his offensive game was rather strong, and in a backup role, that skill could have be maximized.
When you are rolling out a starting center who needs people to create for him offensively, like Kessler, having a big man who can sub in and create a spark is huge.
Not to say Ayton would’ve been flawless, but he’s serviceable. Having him go from nearly 30 to 15-20 minutes a night would’ve taken a ton off his plate and thrown out the pressure of him being the starting center of the Lakers.
Having Ayton as the backup would’ve masked the impact of his meh defensive play and maximized the impact of his offensive production.
It’s not like there’s been an indication that Ayton asked out of LA because he felt he was a starting center—he just got traded to the Wizards, who have a packed frontcourt. So why not keep him and give him that second chance?
This time, it could have involved different responsibilities and circumstances? If it didn’t work, they could’ve still moved him, and there would’ve been a market. It’s not like Ayton had a contract guarantee coming up and LA was hard-pressed to trade him. This move just seemed like a massive misstep and leaves this roster with another hole they didn’t need.
Add us as a preferred source on Google