Lakers’ JJ Redick pins Deandre Ayton’s struggles on the simplest thing possible

Deandre Ayton’s career has certainly not progressed the way he thought it would after being the first overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. In Year 8 of his career, Ayton finds himself as a middling starting center in the NBA, and even with the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury woes, Ayton has failed to step into a larger role — a role he thinks he deserves especially after feeling earlier in the season as though he was being underutilized by head coach JJ Redick.

Watching Ayton play elicits some frustration; he has the athletic tools to be the dominant force he believes he can be, and he also has the soft touch to score around the hoop rather consistently, but his motor comes and goes. And now, the Lakers center, who scored a grand total of three points on 1-4 shooting from the field in their 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, is having more than his fair share of troubles corraling the basketball.

“He’s had trouble catching the ball,” Redick said of Ayton, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Indeed, there have been some moments over the past few games where the Lakers’ guards would spoonfeed Ayton the basketball, only for him to fumble. It’s not quite clear what has happened to Ayton, as he hasn’t been this poor for consistent stretches at any point in his career prior to this stretch with the Lakers.

Deandre Ayton is being served some humble pie during Lakers tenure

Ayton has at least recognized that he’s not going to be the guy for the Lakers, or any other team for that matter, doing a 180-degree turn from his comments earlier in the season where he felt as though he was being shortchanged by the team by getting the Clint Capela treatment.

The 27-year-old center’s confidence appears to be shot, and the Lakers have to find a way to get his mind back on track.

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