“As long he is with them three on the court, you will never see the basketball” – Raymond Felton questions Deandre Ayton’s fit alongside the Lakers’ stars
The Los Angeles Lakers are at present the NBA’s equal of “Days of Our Lives.” With star gamers LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, in addition to former high decide Deandre Aytonall attempting to determine the way to coexist on the courtroom, there was loads of drama and hypothesis surrounding the group.
From Luka’s fixed, relentless whining and complaining to the referees to the Lakers’ porous protection to Ayton expressing unhappiness With their present function, the Purple and Gold have needed to put out quite a few fires all through the season.
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According to former NBA guard Raymond Felton, a viable answer to handle Ayton’s flu with his function on the group’s offense is to ship him to the bench to play with the second unit. That method, he will not should compete with touches with the group’s high weapons.
Felton knew this might occur
Felton, a savvy level guard who performed 14 seasons in the massive league, stated on “To The Baha” podcast that he completely foresaw this occurring. The first-general decide of the 2018 draft (forward of Luka even), the 7-footer from the Bahamas is used to having possessions run by means of him.
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In reality, Ayton has averaged 12.4 makes an attempt per sport in his first seven seasons. However, this season, he’s solely taking pictures the rock 8.7 instances a sport, his touches severely restricted by the presence of ball-dominant gamers like Luka, LeBron and Austin.
“I said this months ago. Now we’re two months into it, and he’s crashing out, saying he needs touches. I told y’all this was going to happen,” Felton uttered.
However, Felton really useful a drastic plan of action which may assist get the finest out of Ayton: yank him from the beginning lineup.
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“Put that man on the bench. Let him come off the bench and get all the touches he wants. He’ll get more touches. Not all the touches, but more touches,” Felton remarked. “Play him with Reaves in that second unit. Because as long as he’s on the court with those three guys, he’s never going to see the basketball.”
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The Lakers’ offense hasn’t regarded proper
Despite the presence of a few of the league’s elite playmakers, the Lakers’ offense hasn’t regarded proper when Luka, LeBron and Austin play collectively. Ayton’s calls for for the ball definitely will not assist issues.
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“All I’m saying is this comes down to what we’ve been saying about the Lakers the whole damn season: They have too many guys who need the ball,” Theo Pinson, one other former NBA guard, famous.
“Deandre Ayton needs the ball to look successful. When Ayton has looked his best, it’s been when only two of those guys are on the floor. Either LeBron and Luka — no AR. Or Luka and AR — no LeBron. That’s when he’s been successful,” I’ve added.
The first month of the season noticed Ayton do his finest work. With LeBron sidelined on account of Sciatica, the massive man averaged 16.5 factors on a powerful 69.6 p.c taking pictures from the subject. Add to that 8.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per sport, and Ayton regarded like the middle the Lakers had been looking for.
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However, with the Lakers’ important playmakers all in uniform, Ayton has struggled to seek out his kind, averaging 8.9 factors and seven.8 rebounds in February. With the postseason looming and the West stacked with deadly massive males, the Lakers are counting on Ayton to regain their kind and confidence if they’re to make some noise when the video games matter most.
This story was initially revealed by Basketball Network on Mar 4, 2026, the place it first appeared in the Latest News part. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
