Deandre Ayton hopes to revitalize his career with the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Deandre Ayton after he was acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Before that, Ayton was with the Phoenix Suns, where he played the best basketball of his career.
If the Lakers are to be a championship contender this season, they need Ayton to have a strong year.
Ayton had a tough preseason debut for the Lakers, but fans hope that’s not a harbinger of things to come.
The 27-year-old should benefit from his easygoing looks when playing alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Ayton talked about his new teammate, Doncic, and said he was impressed by Doncic, who hosted a team-bonding event at the Porsche Driving Experience. This was something Ayton had never experienced before.
“I’m really grateful to Luka for that.
“I’ve never done anything like that before, I’ve never had one of my star players take the team seriously like that, so something like that is just crazy.
“I had never heard of anything like that, and it was my first time driving a Porsche.”
Ayton building chemistry with Doncic will be important as the season progresses.
However, despite spending time with Doncic at team bonding events, Ayton revealed that he has yet to practice with Doncic or James.
“Not yet. We’re just waiting. We have to get ready.
“JJ (Redick) and the coaching staff probably have something that we can all put together to really build chemistry.”
Ayton’s best season came in 2019-20, when he averaged 18.2 points and 11.5 rebounds.
That was the closest Ayton was to ages 20 and 10. If he can get close to that average, that would bode well for Los Angeles.