The Los Angeles Lakers solved their center problem with the acquisition of Deandre Ayton.
Deandre Ayton is having a great first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, even though his offseason acquisition didn’t receive a consensus of great reviews from experts.
In fact, Ayton came close to breaking his career record last season, which took him 40 games with the Portland Trail Blazers.
But if we put that aside a little bit and compare him to Anthony Davis, one stat from Ayton will definitely frustrate the Dallas Mavericks.
Last February, the Lakers and Mavericks made a huge trade that sent Davis to the Mavericks.
Instead, the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic. Since then, Doncic has quickly fitted in with the team, but the same can’t be said for AD, who has been plagued by injuries.
To fill Davis’ role, the Lakers signed Ayton this summer. Despite only playing 15 games with the Lakers, he has played more minutes with the Lakers than Davis, who has been with the Mavs since February 2025.
Total play time (minutes)
| player | team | Total play time (minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Deandre Ayton | Los Angeles Lakers | 425 |
| anthony davis | dallas mavericks | 415 |
After all, Ayton and Davis both played in just 14 games with their new teams, but DA did it faster than the 2020 NBA champions.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Davis’ time with the Mavericks hasn’t gone as planned, and he remains sidelined due to injury.
With that in mind, there are serious rumors that the Mavs are considering trading Davis before this season’s NBA trade deadline.
Where will Anthony Davis be traded after Nico Harrison is fired?
Former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban has denied these rumors, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the team dismantled its current core and began a rebuild.
If the Mavericks go down this path, they could potentially trade Davis to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga.
After all, let’s not forget that Kuminga was in a tug-of-war with the Warriors this summer.