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Lakers Notes: Ayton, Bennett, Front Office, Reaves

By | at February 27, 2026 10:21 am

While Deandre Ayton has had some big games for the Lakers this season, including a 21-point, 13-rebound outing in Tuesday’s 110-109 loss to Orlando, there are still questions about whether he’s fully committed to the role the team wants him to play, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

That disconnect between what the former No. 1 overall pick believes he’s capable of and what the Lakers want from him – starting with screen-setting and rim-running – was on display after Ayton wrapped up his post-game media session following the loss to Orlando, McMenamin notes.

“They’re trying to make me Clint Capela,” Ayton said as he made his way toward the showers, referring to the veteran NBA center who has a reputation as a solid rim-runner and rebounder. “I’m not no Clint Capela!”

Now 27 years old and in his eighth NBA season, Ayton hasn’t become a star at the NBA level, having developed a reputation as a “talented but unserious” player who can be engaged and productive in one game before disappearing in the next game, McMenamin writes. Still, the Lakers have been happy with his performance when’s willing to do the sort of “dirty work” the team wants him to focus on, a source told ESPN.

“When he’s at his best, and we’ve seen it, we’ve seen glimpses of it, he’s playing with force,” that team source said. “And that’s playing with great force on both ends of the floor when it comes to screening. Then rolling and putting pressure on the rim; (when the) shot goes up, crashing the glass; sprinting back in transition; loading to the basketball; calling out your communication; being in the right positioning; contesting shots; boxing out. Those things for a big are just really thankless when you’re a skilled big. But on this team, that’s what his role is. He has to be a dirt worker.”

As McMenamin writes, when Ayton commits to doing those little things that don’t involve scoring, he’s often rewarded for it, earning more minutes and getting more looks from his teammates. However, there’s still a sense that he doesn’t care as much about “the grind” as he does about putting the ball in the basket.

“He picks and chooses when he wants to lock in and play,” a Western Conference scout told McMenamin. “Which is not what most dominant centers do.”

Ayton had two points and four rebounds and was a -24 in 23 minutes in the Lakers’ 113-110 loss to Phoenix on Thursday.

We have more on the Lakers:

  • Following up on the Lakers’ hiring of Tony Bennett as a draft advisor, Dan Woike of The Athletic reports that the longtime UVA head coach won’t be leading the organization’s draft room or scouting department. As Woike explains, Bennett will be playing more of a supporting role, with his track record of identifying players who possess “toughness, energy and IQ” viewed as an asset for a Lakers team looking to restock its collection of young talent.
  • Woike adds in the same story that reforming the college scouting staff, building up a “modern” pro scouting department, and expanding the current analytics department are among the Lakers’ goals as they bring in more front office executives under new majority team owner Mark Walter.
  • After the Lakers wrapped up 4-4 home stand with Tuesday’s loss to Orlando, head coach JJ Redick referred to the club as a “work in progress,” according to Benjamin Royer of The Southern California News Group (subscription required). Thursday’s game provided a reminder of that point, as the Lakers lost a tight contest to a Suns team playing without its two leading scorers, Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. As Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times relays, guard Austin Reaves said after the latest loss that the team’s level of frustration is “very high.”
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