Deandre Ayton not taking his ‘last chance’ for granted with Lakers

Deandre Ayton has spent the last two years moving away from the national spotlights of a team that was closer to obtaining the first global choice than going to the first round of the playoffs. On Monday, the 7 -foot center was held in front of the flashing lights, answered questions at a crowded press conference and looked at a brilliant line of 17 championship trophies.

Ayton, whose incoherent career has reached a new hollow in Portland, where he was bought from his contract and criticized for a bad work ethics, smiled at what he called “the biggest scene”. The old overall choice n ° 1 is ready to launch its revenge tour with the Lakers.

“This is the greatest opportunity, I can say about my career,” Ayton told Lakers Media Day on Monday. “Some people say it’s my last step, some people say it’s my last chance. Well, this is the opportunity I can say that I will not really take for granted.”

Marcus Smart knows the feeling. The defensive player of the year 2022 is released from a contract repurchase in Washington. After nine years and three fully defensive team honors with the Boston Celtics, Smart played in just 54 games in two-blue years with Memphis and Washington. The 31 -year -old acknowledges that some may have forgotten the Celtic “Marcus Smart” – the player who kept the five positions, made the three fall in time and brought a contagious tenacity and set in tone.

Lakers still remember.

“I know what he brings to the match,” said LeBron James. “I know that the team is the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, with regard to Marcus Smart.”

Despite its curriculum vitae and its position in the league, Smart does not expect an automatic input to the starting program of the Lakers.

“Whether I start or go out from the bench,” said Smart, “my presence will be made.”

Lakers Guardian Marcus Smart is participating in the media day at the UCLA health training center on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Smart’s defensive prowess could be a significant boost for a starting group that appears to include James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Rui Hachimura, who started in 57 of his 59 regular season appearances last season, is in the last year of his contract after having an average of 13.1 points and five rebounds per game last season.

Faced with the possibility of getting out of the bench before a contractual year, Hachimura declared that he would recover from the coaches to decide what was best. Coach JJ Redick said that the team has seven or eight starting caliber players, and that the departure training does not weigh heavily in its second season at the helm.

But Ayton’s starting position feels solidified.

The center was the addition of the most significant off -season of the Lakers after the superproduction trade which therefore led to the team also left the team without a departure center. Jaxson Hayes, who was plunged into the starting role by necessity but who fell out of the rotation during the playoffs, will be a precious punch with Ayton in the center, said James. Stronger Maxi Kleber, who only played five minutes after joining the team during the mid-season trade with Dallas, said that he was entirely healthy after a long injury.

Kleber, 33, knows in the first hand the impact that Donci can have on the career of a post player. Kleber has played with Dononic since the Slovenian superstar was written in 2018 and was amazed by Doncic’s ability to obtain easy shots for his teammates. Lob’s chances will start falling from the sky like never before for Ayton.

After practicing together during the offseason, Kleber congratulated Ayton to have become stronger and added to his physical presence on the ground. Redick put the whole list to the “Championship form”.

Ayton did not need additional motivation.

“You have an angry Ayton,” said the 27 -year -old player, “where I was disrespectful for most of my career and I’m just doubted. And I’m here where everything [that is] Behind me and I can add all these fuel to win and play alongside Luka. »»

Donic, for his own acquisition after the trade and conversations of last year on his weight and his work ethics, was impatient to start his first training camp with the Lakers. After an appearance in the quarter -final in Eurobasket with the Slovenian national team, Doncic said that he felt stronger and faster on the field after his physical off -season transformation. One of the scholars of Pick-And-Roll of the League, Doncic should help Ayton to rediscover the domination he flashed while helping the Phoenix Suns to reach the NBA final in 2021 and to display a 64 victories franchise record in 2022.

Finally, under the NBA spotlights with a new team, Ayton savor the possibility of pursuing more significant records.

“You can feel the pressure through the door,” said Ayton. “This team wants to win a championship.”