Lakers' $16M veteran buy-in fuels Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves' dominant stretch

The Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll right now, and for a while, it didn’t look like things would turn out this way. If the Lakers were going to become true contenders, there was a belief that Deandre Ayton might need to be benched.

“Moving Ayton to the bench full-time may seem harsh, but it's needed. One thing no one can take away from him is that he can score. He was literally Pac-12 Player of the Year as a freshman at Arizona. So for LA, the best way to maximize Ayton's inside scoring is to let him come off the bench and focus on that part of his game. The Lakers don't ask much from their starting center (rebound, protect the rim, and catch lobs). Time and time again, Ayton has shown it's still too much. Pair that with his inability to play a consistent, complete game, and you have all the warning signs needed to remove him from the starting five entirely,” Lake Show Life’s Chris Lambert wrote.

However, Ayton has shown that he doesn’t need to be benched, as he has finally figured out his role with the team.

“This Ayton makes Los Angeles a serious threat. They’ve won seven consecutive games, including victories over the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Rockets. Those are elite teams, and the Lakers have secured playoff seeding tiebreakers over all the teams right around them in the standings. Luka is playing out of his mind, but Ayton buying into his role has been just as crucial to the purple and gold’s success,” Lake Show Life’s Tyler Watts wrote. “Deandre Ayton wasted no time proving to Los Angeles Lakers fans that he meant what he said. The big man is embracing his role and thriving in it. That is exactly what JJ Redick and the franchise wanted all year. Everyone is seeing the rewards. Hopefully, Ayton stays bought in because that is the key to a deep playoff run. All fans can do is stay tuned to find out.”

Ayton has been inconsistent at times for the Lakers this season, even claiming that he wasn’t getting the ball enough. However, he is now beginning to embrace his role and look like a true teammate.

This is the version of Ayton the Lakers were hoping to see from the beginning. It took time, but the benefits of taking a chance on him are starting to pay off in a big way.

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