The Washington Wizards brought in Deandre Ayton to fill a backup center role, and the first signs have looked fine enough. He’s started two of the three preseason games, and for now, the mood around him is calm.
But that won’t last long. Once the real games begin, the same problems that followed him through Phoenix, Portland and Los Angeles are expected to show up again.
Ayton has always been a fascinating mix of size, production and frustration. He wants more.
More offense, more touches, more shots, more responsibility. That tension was part of what went wrong in Phoenix, where he felt disrespected during restricted free-agent talks and wound up in a cycle of inconsistency and effort questions.
Those issues resurfaced in Portland and eventually led to him being cut. The Lakers then brought him in, but after one season they moved on, even with Ayton having opted into his player option and the team needing a backup center.
That’s the Ayton experience in a nutshell. Some nights he looks like a force. Other nights he’s the guy coaches have to pull before things get worse.
Last season made that pattern impossible to miss. Ayton had 14 games with at least 20 points, but he also had 10 games with five points or fewer.
He reached double figures in rebounds 28 times, yet finished with four or fewer boards in 14 contests. One night he can give you 20 and 16.
The next, he can force the staff into a quick hook.
His production in Los Angeles wasn’t empty, but it was modest by his standards: 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 block in 27.2 minutes per game. Those were the lowest scoring, rebounding and playing-time numbers of his eight-year NBA career.
In Washington, those numbers could dip again. He’s behind Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr, which gives Brian Keefe the freedom to sit him when things go sideways.
The flip side is tougher: when Ayton is rolling, the Wizards may have to figure out how to keep that going without disrupting the rest of the rotation.
Keeping him engaged will be the challenge. That means giving him enough touches to stay invested and convincing him to fully accept the role. The source of one of the more interesting suggestions around him was Patrick Ewing, who might help him reach another level if the lesson sticks.
There’s also the matter of the quotes. Ayton has spent years delivering remarks that leave people around him scratching their heads, and he has never been shy about voicing what he wants. Zach Lowe put it bluntly in his new Substack:
“What is the over/under on the number of days before Deandre Ayton’s first oblivious quote?”
That kind of moment is part of the package. So is the nickname, DominAyton, and the push for a bigger offensive role even when the fit doesn’t always support it.
At 28, Ayton has been around long enough for those surprises to feel familiar. Wizards fans should expect one sooner rather than later, probably on a night when he has just played well.
For Washington, the bigger issue is what those comments mean. This is a young team trying to move from rebuilding to contending, and distractions are the last thing it needs. Ayton cannot be over either of the big men ahead of him, so his job is to buy into the backup role and keep the focus on the floor.
The contract situation adds another layer. Ayton opted in to an $8.1 million player option before Washington gave up Jaden Hardy and two second-round draft picks to get him.
He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after this season, which means he’s playing for his next deal. If the Wizards struggle, that becomes a real pressure point.
Ayton will want numbers. He’ll want value.
He may not love grinding through 20 minutes off the bench.
That’s where this gets tricky. The path to another payday runs through accepting the role he has now and helping Washington win.
But getting Ayton to stay in that lane has been the hard part everywhere else, and it’s why the Suns, Trail Blazers and Lakers all moved on for similar reasons. The Wizards are about to find out the same thing.
The difference is that they can at least hide him more easily on the off nights. The question is whether he’ll stay bought in when the minutes and the stats aren’t there.
So far, he has. But the version of Ayton his previous teams know is waiting not far behind.
In Other News...
Anthony Davis Is Already Washingtons Biggest Defensive Concern
Anthony Davis barely needs an introduction when the conversation turns to the Wizards defense. In a recent preseason game, his absence was felt immediately, because the group looked far more vulnerable without the player who gives Washington its best chance to anchor the floor on that end. The difference was hard to miss, even in an exhibition setting, and it only sharpened the sense that this rosters defensive identity still runs through Davis.
For Washington, the concern is not simply whether Davis can be effective when he plays, but how often he can stay available. His injury history has already made durability part of the discussion, and the larger question is what happens if the Wizards have to navigate long stretches without him. The answer could determine whether this defense settles into respectable territory or slips into something much harder to manage over the course of a season. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Fans May Not Love Where AJ Dybantsa Stands Right Now
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For Wizards fans, the bigger issue may be fit as much as perception. Washington is planning for a more balanced offense with multiple options, which could spread the touches around and leave Dybantsa with less volume than some of his top rookie peers. He should still matter plenty to the team's season, but the path to individual hardware may be narrower than many expected when the draft ended. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Still Have One Painful Regret From The Poole Trade
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Beys emergence with the Pelicans only sharpens the regret for Washington. He proved he could be more than a throw-in, giving New Orleans real value and then landing a long-term commitment to stay there. For the Wizards, the sting is less about the bigger trade tree and more about what they gave up along the way, because Bey would fit neatly into the mix if he were still around. [Read more 🡒]