All of the Lakers in Los Angeles are set to enter the 2025-26 NBA season with DeAndre Ayton as the starting center.
Deandre Ayton arrived after completing his contract purchase with Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite being the previous No. 1 overall pick, there are some concerns about Ayton. Bill Simmons, for example, made a soap opera prediction for the upcoming Lakers season.
Similarly, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon has some concerns about Ayton’s fit on the Lakers’ current roster.
The 2025-26 season will mark Ayton’s eighth year in the NBA. Obviously, many opinions have already been formed about the age of 26.
But he still hopes that Ayton will be able to make his name in Los Angeles with his defensive capabilities. The same ability that was questioned by Wilbon in “Allow a Disruption.”
“It will improve the Lakers and probably be more specific for Luka Donsic than LeBron (James).
“Donsic is a vocalist and now he’s in management situation when he plays for Dallas and the Lakers,” Wilbon said.
He added: “Ayton’s defense is uneven. He can become a rim defender. He can do a lot, but he can spend the night.”
Wilbon believes Ayton has the talent to become an elite defender, but ESPN experts still doubt his work ethic. This was a general story around Ayton throughout his career.
In fact, even Tim McMahon labeled Ayton “talented doofus” ahead of his purple and gold debut season.
The mark of talented point guards is to raise players on the roster. Wilbon pointed to Chris Paul’s abilities when the Phoenix Suns reached the 2021 NBA Finals.
Ayton is part of that roster and Wilbon is a firm believer.
“Even when Chris Paul had to go for the whip hand, when the Suns got there in 2021, it was Ayton’s best, he really pushed him and pushed him,” Wilbon continued.
| Statistics (2021 NBA Playoffs) | Deandre Ayton |
| point | 15.8 ppg |
| rebound | 11.8 RPG |
| assist | 1.1 APG |
“But you really did have Chris Paul on him to get there. I don’t know, is Luka that guy? Can Luka do that? LeBron can do that. Wilbon concluded.
Simply put, Ayton’s success comes down to the amount that Doncic and James can push him to the limit. More importantly, does Ayton even want to work that hard? Only time can be seen.