The Washington Wizards got a firsthand look Friday at why the Lakers were willing to move on from Deandre Ayton.
With Anthony Davis out, Ayton got the start and the night exposed the same old problem: the defense. In Washington’s 139-132 loss to the Hawks, Ayton put up eight points, 11 rebounds, three assists and one steal in 23 minutes, but the rim protection never showed up. His defensive rating for the game was 146.9, and Atlanta piled up 62 points in the paint while shooting 53 percent from the field.
That kind of performance is exactly why Los Angeles was comfortable flipping him. The seven-footer opted in to his $8.1 million player option with the Lakers before they sent him to Washington for Jaden Hardy and two second-round draft picks. The Lakers were happy to land draft capital for a player they no longer viewed as a reliable answer at center, even though they needed a backup big.
Ayton’s night also underscored how much better he fits when he’s not being asked to carry a starting role. The former No. 1 overall pick has settled into a reserve job in Washington when AD and Alex Sarr are both healthy, and there’s value in that.
His passing has taken a step forward, and that showed against Atlanta with those three assists. He’s clearly bought into the role, and he deserves credit for putting his ego aside in the nation’s capital.
Still, the defensive issues are hard to ignore. The Hawks scored 15 more paint points than Washington’s season average entering the game, and a lot of that damage came with Ayton on the floor.
The Wizards were forced to change course late, and Ayton played only three minutes in the fourth quarter. Washington closed the final 4:50 with Tre Johnson in his place while Alex Sarr slid down to center.
The contrast with Anthony Davis was obvious. Davis played through an ankle sprain in Wednesday’s game and is not expected to miss much time, but Washington’s lineup without him showed how fragile the setup can be if Ayton is asked to anchor the middle. The Wizards want to compete, and they can’t afford to build around Ayton as a full-time starter if that goal is real.
That’s the bigger picture here. Ayton was once a difference-making center, the No. 1 pick in 2018 ahead of Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson and Trae Young.
He started and anchored the Suns’ 2021 Finals team. But that version of Ayton feels like a different era now.
The fit in Washington is much cleaner when he’s used carefully. He can punish second-unit bigs, finish around the rim and work as a pick-and-roll partner, especially with a creator like Trae Young on the floor. But the Wizards have to keep him in the right lane and manage his minutes once Davis is back.
The numbers back up what Friday showed. Washington has a 120.7 defensive rating with Ayton on the floor this season, and while the offense is better with him in the game, the defense is 10.5 points per 100 possessions worse. Overall, the Wizards are 9.8 points per 100 possessions better without him.
That’s why the Lakers were ready to move on. They saw the same flaws last season, when they were 2.5 points per 100 possessions better without Ayton and posted a 117.0 defensive rating with him on the court. The Thunder then played him off the floor in the second-round playoff series, outscoring the Lakers by 18 points across Ayton’s 99 minutes in the sweep.
Washington got Ayton at a low cost in a market where centers were expensive. But Friday was a reminder that the price tag wasn’t the issue.
The issue was always whether he could hold up defensively when the game demanded it. Against Atlanta, he couldn’t.
The Wizards dropped to 4-5, and they know they need to keep Ayton’s role tight when Davis returns.
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