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Deandre Ayton has gained a reputation for being something of an enigma during his relatively brief time in the NBA. The latest feature story on him is going to do nothing to change any of that.
On Thursday, a story by Dave McMenamin of ESPN profiling Ayton with the Lakers this season had some of the most insane anecdotes imaginable. While we’ll dive into those shortly, the most notable on-court takeaway from the article was Ayton’s reaction to his role with the Lakers.
When he was finished speaking to the group, Ayton made his way back toward the showers and said what he really felt — loud enough for anyone still in the locker room to hear.
“They’re trying to make me Clint Capela,” Ayton said, referring to the Houston Rockets’ now backup center, who a decade ago made his impact as a lob-catching, rim-running big on a team that made it to two conference finals.
“I’m not no Clint Capela!”
Well, Deandre, therein lies the problem.
Luka needs a lob-catching partner at center. He went to the NBA Finals with two of them on the Mavs. Everyone knew the Lakers were searching for one this summer.
Ayton hasn’t ever been that player, even in his college days. No one expected him to become Clint Capela this season. But, like, you understand why they’d want him to be more like that, right?
No only is it beneficial to Luka to have a lob-catching center, but the centers get paid, too! Ask Derrick Lively II and Daniel Gafford about their stats, success and payday playing with Luka.
On one hand, it’s great awareness from Ayton that he sees the Lakers trying to turn him into Capela. On the other hand, it’s incredible awareness to understand why they would do that.
The wild stories of Deandre Ayton
Now, for the real meat and potatoes of this article: the anecdotes about Ayton.
The first one begins with a reference to the shirts the team wore early in the season that donned half of Ayton’s face and half of a lion. But it flows into an insane detail that hardly feels real.
The Lakers have stoked that ego, too: Rob Pelinka, team president of basketball operations and general manager, commissioned a black T-shirt with a gold screen print depicting half of a lion’s face and half of Ayton’s face that he presented to the 27-year-old. Members of the training staff wrap Ayton’s water bottle in athletic tape and write “DA’s Crunk Juice — Drink this to unleash the beast” in black marker on it before games.
DA’s Crunk Juice.
10/10. No notes. I’ve been covering the Lakers for a long time and this ranks near the very top of stories in that time period.
Is this more or less powerful than Michael’s Secret Stuff from Space Jam? The fact the most immediate comparison for this story is an animated movie is really just a perfect summary of the situation.
But on the topic of cartoonish moments…
There was less than an hour before tipoff against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 13 when Ayton entered the Lakers’ locker room.
Just inside the door, Ayton’s breezy walk slowed down and his gait suddenly stiffened for a few awkward steps before the big man hurtled toward the floor.
What would have been one of the more bizarre pregame injuries in NBA history morphed into something else completely: Ayton caught his fall by placing both hands over his head and gracefully executed a cartwheel, followed by a somersault, to land safely on two feet.
Yeah, what needs to happen for us to see Ayton recreate that on the court. Is he saving that for a potential game-winner? A playoff series win? The Lakers aren’t winning a title this year, so it can’t be saved for that. But I absolutely need to see Ayton go full Willy Wonka.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.