The Deandre Ayton reclamation project is underway, and a lot of credit for the center’s career turnaround goes to JJ Redick, the head coach of the Lakers.
Ayton, labeled a bad locker room presence and a poor teammate during his two-year stint with the Trail Blazers, has found his mojo in Los Angeles, averaging 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists from 31.3 minutes, while helping the team to a 6-2 start.
On Monday, Ayton had the last laugh against his former squad as he had a team-high 29 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the Lakers’ 123-115 win over the Blazers. After the game, Ayton sent a heartfelt message to Redick via his Instagram account.
“Love who loves you,” Ayton wrote in a message directed to Redick, along with pictures of his time with the Lakers, including one in a huddle with his head coach.
Deandre Ayton: Banished from Portland
As is well documented, the Bahamian big man was waived by the Blazers after widespread reports claimed that the franchise was fed up with his antics.
The Athletic’s Jason Quick noted back in July that the Blazers had no issue with Ayton’s poor on-court performances, but couldn’t take his off-court disciplinary issues.
“See, the Blazers could live with Ayton missing shots or his man scoring on him. They could even live with him being limited by injuries to 55 and 40 games in his two seasons in Portland,” wrote Quick.
“But in the end, they couldn’t live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source. The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort.”
The Lakers were warned to avoid Ayton, who signed a two-year $16.2 million contract to fill the team’s massive void at the center position.
Deandre Ayton Credits JJ Redick
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins warned Ayton that he could be out of the league if he doesn’t shape up in Los Angeles, citing reports of his bad rap around the NBA.
“He better come in with the right mindset because this could possibly be his last shot,” Perkins said of Ayton before the season. “If you look at the bigs around the Western Conference? [Nikola] Jokic, [Alperen] Sengun, Anthony Davis…
“They want some action, big fella. You got your hands full. So this should be a moment when you go in and check yourself and say, ‘You know what, I’m about to lock in.”
It appears that Ayton has definitely adopted the “right mindset,” as he has been willing to do everything asked of him by Redick’s staff — from setting hard screens for Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic to protecting the rim to the best of his ability.
After his revenge win against the Blazers, Ayton couldn’t stop raving about the confidence Redick has instilled in him and other Lakers players.
“JJ [is] not giving the crap who’s out there, you know, he wants to play Laker basketball,” Ayton said of his head coach, via Khobi Price.
“And, you know, just being coachable and being doing what we’re told. Ju has been in this game for a while, he’s won this game for a while. So I think anything he say, we can trust it, and he’s proven that point a few times.”
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