Deandre Ayton stood with his hands in his pockets, his all-black attire — from the suit to tie, shirt and shoes — a measured look for the newest member of the Lakers. His eyes were mostly down as he answered questions about how he’ll fit with the team and how he’s driven to prove his naysayers wrong.
In many ways, Ayton fell to the Lakers after he was bought out of his contract from the Portland Trail Blazers, opening the door for him to agree to a two-year, $16.6-million deal.
The two seasons he spent with the Trail Blazers were not as good as the time he was in Phoenix. His production dropped. The number of games he played dropped.
That led to the narrative that Ayton hasn’t lived up to his potential. That he played consistently enough at a high level. That he doesn’t give his best effort all the time.
When Ayton was introduced to the media Tuesday, he didn’t shy away from the criticism.
He’s a 7-foot center who the Lakers need to be at his best at all times this season.
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“Most definitely. It fuels me,” Ayton said about criticism. “It fuels me up completely. And it’s a different type of drive that I’ve been wanting to express for a long time. I think this is the perfect timing, here in the purple and gold. And it’s a platform that I cannot run from.
“I can show what I really am and just be around some greats to really emphasize that for me as well. It is a lot of fuel in me to prove to the whole world.”
Ayton played only 40 games last season for the Trail Blazers, missing a lot of those because of a calf injury. He averaged 14.4 points per game. During the 2023-24 season with Portland, he averaged 16.7 points over 55 games.
Both of those seasons were short of what Ayton did while with the Suns in 2022-23, when he averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.
Ayon was asked if the questions were fair about his motor.
“I feel like at the end of the day, I’m on the court and I’m supposed to perform,” he said. “It’s just different routes with organizations, whether you want to win or not. I just took my route where I want to win. When it comes to wins, you play hard when you know everybody’s goal is to win. You do everything you’re supposed to do or can do to win. …
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“I’ve just been trying to put in as much work as I possibly can. When I’m on the floor, I want to really just show the world and prove to everybody that I am a winner. Any position I’m in, I just want to really win and sacrifice the way I did coming into this league.”
Ayton will have Luka Doncic and LeBron James to help push him along and hopefully tap more out of his potential.
Doncic averaged 8.1 assists per game last season and James averaged 7.8 assists.
“They both average about nine assists over their career span, and just the type of players they create with their teammates,” Ayton said. “They turn them into superstars, they make them bigger than their roles, they make them very important on the floor. Just seeing that and finally getting the chance to go in and experience that would be big for me. Just getting me back to my full form of how I used to play, you know, coming up and being a part of the [NBA] Finals. It’s those playmakers I’m used to having around me that’s leading to wins.”
The Lakers also introduced Jake LaRavia to the media. He played a season with the Sacramento Kings, averaging 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He shot 47.5% from the field and 42.3% from three-point range.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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