Deandre Ayton chose certainty over the open market, but the Lakers’ latest moves suggest they may be just as comfortable looking elsewhere at center.
Ayton, the former Phoenix Suns No. 1 overall pick, quickly picked up his $8.1 million player option for next season, keeping him in Los Angeles after a first year that came with mixed results and some blunt self-assessment. He said he “made a lot of sacrifices” during his first season with the Lakers and that his role as a rim protector and rebounder is “not what I want.”
The numbers back up the idea that Ayton’s role shrank in a crowded offense. He posted a career-low 12.5 points per game, took a career-low 8.3 field goals per contest and still converted 67.1% of those attempts, a career best. His usage rate fell to 16.7%, the lowest of his career, in a Lakers system that featured, when healthy, Luka Doncic, LeBron James and the newly re-signed Austin Reaves.
But Ayton’s impact didn’t really show up elsewhere, either. He averaged 8.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game, both career lows, and it was the first time in his NBA career he finished a season below 10 rebounds per game while also averaging at least one assist. His defensive box plus/minus was -0.9, the second-worst mark of his career and his lowest since his rookie season on a Suns team that went 19-63.
Even with Ayton back on the books, the Lakers acted like they weren’t done upgrading the position.
Their biggest frontcourt move came in a sign-and-trade for 7-foot-2 center Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz. The deal sends two future unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to Utah, while Kessler is set to sign a four-year, $130 million contract with Los Angeles.
Kessler missed most of last season after playing just five games before season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, but when healthy he brings elite rim protection. That alone makes the fit obvious: the Lakers are paying for a center they clearly believe can anchor the middle.
They also added 6-foot-9 big man Sandro Mamukelashvili on a four-year, $54 million deal. Known as “Mamu,” he can play both power forward and center, and he gives Los Angeles more spacing than Ayton. Mamukelashvili shot 38.9% from 3-point range last season with the Toronto Raptors and 37.3% from deep the year before with the San Antonio Spurs.
How all of that shakes out under head coach JJ Redick is the next question. Redick was openly critical of Ayton at times last season, saying he was “frustrated” by not getting the ball as much as he liked and noting that Ayton was “having trouble catching the ball” even when the staff tried to get him involved.
With Kessler’s contract pointing to a new starting center, Ayton’s path in the rotation looks murkier than ever. His minutes may still be there, but his role could get even smaller.
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Luke Kennard is now in place on a two-year, $13 million deal to help replace Grayson Allen, but another familiar Suns name just found a bigger payday elsewhere. Jock Landale, who once filled minutes in Phoenixs frontcourt, has landed a new contract after spending enough time around the league to make clear he still has value as a sturdy backup big.
For Suns fans, the more interesting part is what Landales departure says about a position that still invites debate whenever Phoenix looks for depth. There are still arguments to be made about how well he would fit in a second-unit role and whether his style would have worked in the kind of rotation the Suns are trying to build, but that discussion now lives more in the hypothetical than in the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Just Made The Same Risky Bet Suns Fans Know Too Well
For Suns fans, the Lakers latest roster shuffle looks familiar in all the wrong ways. Phoenix has already lived through the kind of aggressive win-now push that brings in useful veterans, sends out rotation pieces, and chips away at future flexibility, from the re-signings of Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, and Mark Williams to the trades and additions that brought in Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard. It is the sort of balancing act that can make a team look deeper in the moment while quietly narrowing the path forward.
Los Angeles has now stepped into a similar lane after losing LeBron James, bringing back Deandre Ayton, adding Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili, and making major commitments around Luka Doni, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler. The Suns know how quickly that kind of approach can tighten the margins, especially once multiple future first-round picks are already gone, and the real question now is how much patience either franchise will have left when the bill for all this boldness eventually comes due. [Read more 🡒]