It hasn't been the ideal career for Deandre Ayton so far. The 2018 first overall pick had lofty expectations coming out of the University of Arizona as the next dominant big man, and after a few promising seasons with the Phoenix Suns, things have slowly gone downhill.
The Washington Wizards will be Ayton's fourth team in five seasons, and the first time that he's not coming into the season as the projected starter. The counting stats have always been solid for Ayton; it's just been an issue of consistency and effort. The Wizards offer him a unique opportunity to maximize the role he's given, while being an important piece in the turnaround of a team that's been in the mud for a few years.
His first preseason game was promising, and if Ayton plays like that for the entire season, he has a chance to rewrite his narrative as an NBA player.
Deandre Ayton is in a perfect place to thrive in Washington
Not being the starting big is going to be an initial adjustment for Ayton, but it will be good for him in the long run and give him a chance to be a star in his role instead of trying to live up to star expectations.
His job is simple: dominate the defensive glass, score efficiently in the paint, and be a solid fill-in starter when Anthony Davis and/or Alex Sarr miss time. Washington hasn't had many expectations in recent history, and that will benefit Ayton: staying out of the spotlight.
The situation with the Los Angeles Lakers was a bad idea from the jump. His name was heavily scrutinized during his time in Portland, and going to the Lakers (the biggest market in basketball) was simply a poor choice. Any good game he had, he was "doing what he was supposed to do", and any bad game was always under the microscope.
Trae Young might not be the playmaker that Luka Doncic is, but he's pretty close. Young will certainly be able to feed Ayton easy looks in the paint, which is exactly what he needs. Not to mention, in LA last season, he was the only competent starting-level big on the roster. Now, he's not even the second-best on the team.
The franchise-center days are long behind him, but his days of being a high-level contributor to a winning team aren't. On this Wizards team, a bought-in Ayton gives them an extremely high-level bench threat, and elite backup big men have long and successful careers in the NBA.
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