After much thought, and some past words to the contrary, I am finally ready to admit that I think Deandre Ayton will be good with the Lakers, and it’s all because of Luka Doncic. Maybe it was obvious all along — yes, of course, Luka makes his big men considerably better with his vision, passing, and navigation of defenses, and all the problems that Deandre Ayton had in his past two stops likely won’t be problems because his new role will look so different. But that felt like a very simplified outlook on the situation and I was wary to buy in fully.
But watching EuroBasket recently, where Doncic torched defenses and set up his teammates for success, served as a reminder that he makes his teammates better no matter what their play style is without him, and Ayton likely won’t be any different. Yes, Ayton falls in love with midrange jumpers and doesn’t want to take contact in the paint, but alongside Luka, he’ll be able to pretty much just catch lobs and finish short jump hooks on dump-off passes.
Seeing Luka set up his teammates on team Slovenia — which made it to the quarters of the tourney — gave me a vision of the future, and it included a hyper-efficient Deandre Ayton who is seldom tasked with facilitating offense for himself.
Luka Doncic can get the most out of any big man he plays with
Deandre Ayton’s playstyle has been much maligned, and sometimes that’s been warranted. But in LA, where his role might be more rim-runner and play-finisher than offensive option, and extra skill he has could serve him well. He will be able to act as a supercharged lob-catcher, so anything extra he can provide will be house money.
And he does have the skill to provide more than that — it’s just when those skills are relied on too much that things start to fall apart a little bit. Do I actually think Deandre Ayton is never going to take a jump shot with the Lakers? No, and there are times when his range will serve the Lakers well! But for the most part, Ayton’s role with the Lakers should be simplified; with how much better Luka can make his teammates, simpler could be exactly what lets Ayton have his most effective season.
