Zach Lowe has already backed off his preseason belief that Deandre Ayton would work with the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite respectable numbers, Lowe now admits the fit simply has not clicked, and Ayton’s lack of impact has become impossible to ignore.
Speaking on The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe summed up the disconnect perfectly. “He’s averaging 14 and 8 and shooting 68 percent,” he said. “Despite the fact that it sounds like he is hitting the benchmarks that I assigned to ‘it works status’… it ain’t working.” That statement cuts to the heart of Ayton’s season so far, representing the purple and gold.
Too many nights as an afterthought
On the surface, Ayton appears to have been productive. Watch the games, and the story is totally different. Lowe was direct about where things fall apart. “Defensively, he has not been good enough,” he said. “Offensively, there are too many nights where he is an 8-point, 5-rebound afterthought.” For a team that entered the season desperate for a dependable starting center, those disappearing acts matter.
What is most concerning is that this is not about youth or adjustment. Ayton is in his eighth NBA season, yet his offensive game looks largely unchanged. As time goes on, it is only a matter of time before the idea that Ayton will finally click is erased.
Lowe questioned how a player once selected ahead of Luka Doncic still has not sharpened a single offensive skill, calling him a “jack of all trades, master of none.” The idea that Ayton could be moulded into something more has slowly faded.
The situation he faces in Los Angeles should favor him. Ayton is playing alongside LeBron James and Doncic, two of the league’s best playmakers. Easy looks and lob opportunities are built into that environment. Instead, Ayton too often drifts through games without asserting himself.
JJ Redick has said that Ayton tends to perform better when he gets more touches. However, it is clear that even when the Lakers try to feed him, the results are inconsistent. The aggression does not carry over from night to night, and the physical presence never becomes reliable.
The Lakers did not take a reckless gamble by bringing Ayton in. The logic made sense, and Lowe believed it would work. But the gap between the theoretical value and the real impact has been glaring.
Ayton’s stat line suggests progress. The tape suggests something else. And when Zach Lowe is already conceding the point, it is clear this experiment has not delivered what the Lakers needed.