Deandre Ayton Could Change EVERYTHING For The Los Angeles Lakers!

Deandre Ayton Could Change EVERYTHING For The Los Angeles Lakers!

This Los Angeles Laker right here is going to make or break the season for the Los Angeles Lakers. And if they win title number 18, it’s going to be partly because of this guy. Welcome into the Lakers report by Chat Sports. Jeffrey Cooperstein here with you guys. And look, we all want the Lakers to win title number 18. And hopefully that person can help them do that, but you can help the Lakers win number 18 as well. Like this video if you want the Lakers to win it all this next season. I think they have a pretty damn good chance given how this team is constructed. We’re going to hop into today’s show here in just a second, but first, hit that thumbs up icon. [Music] This Lakers season is going to depend on big man DeAndre Aton, who the Lakers sign in 2025 NBA free agency. And you may be thinking, well, the Lakers have Luca Donic. They have LeBron James. They have Austin Reeves, but what have they severely lacked over the last couple of seasons? It’s been a big man and an impact big man at that. And DeAndre Aton absolutely has the potential to be that impact big man that the Lakers so desperately need. I really like the signing of DeAndre Aton to the Lakers earlier in the offseason, and I think that he’s going to be a guy who can help the Lakers elevate to that next level. uh DeAndre Aiden’s contract with Los Angeles, he’s going to make 8.1 million in each of the next two seasons. And he has a player option in 2627. So, it’s really a onepus one deal. And look, if plays really well this season, chances are he opts out and becomes a free agent and gets some more money. But that also means good things for the Lakers because that would mean Aton played well in turn, which means the Lakers played well. So, I think that would it’s been it’s a good deal for both teams. Look, Aiden in Portland just really didn’t work out. The after being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Portland Trailblazers, he never really found his groove in Portland. Dealt some things off the court as well. I don’t know if you remember that weird story. Uh there was like an ice storm up in Portland and he wouldn’t he didn’t want to drive to the arena, so he ended up staying at home and didn’t go to a game. Like there was just some weird things going on between Aton and Portland. But the the talent has been undeniable for DeAndre for some time. He was the number one overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Uh that was the draft that had Luca, that had Trey Young, that had Marvin Bagley, etc. And he was the number one overall pick out of Arizona. So, he also does have a history with Luca. They know each other well and they’re boys. So, hopefully that chemistry will translate onto the court for Los Angeles. But let’s throw it back. If do you remember this? In the playoffs last season against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers could not defend the paint if their life depended on it. JJ Reick said to hell with Jackson Hayes, I’m just not going to play a center at all. He tried Jackson Hayes a little bit and Hayes was a disaster in the postseason. They ran out of lineup where Rui Hachimura was playing the five and you had like Jared Vanderbilt, you had Luca, you had Reeves, and you had LeBron out there. They chose to play without a center instead of playing Jackson Hayes. And I think Hayes is a good enough backup center in this league. I’m just not sure you can rely on him in the postseason or in games where other teams have a dominant big man. Look, he got played off the court and he was the only center on the roster. Now, they Yeah, they did have Alex Len out there. Are you playing Alex Len in the playoffs? No chance. So, they had to go out and they had to upgrade that position. and they absolutely did that in DeAndre Aton. Now, will Aton be able to be the guy that we saw as the number one overall pick in 2018? Will he be that person that takes this Lakers offense to the next level? I think he potentially could be because look, he’s a really good pick and roll player. I think him and Luca will have a good chemistry doing that. And Luca is the best pick and roll guard in the world. And if you get those guys playing a two-man game, you could really see Aton open up the offense for this team because if you have to respect him rolling, that opens up your three-point shooters in Austin Reeves, in Rury, Hachimura, in whoever you have on the bench. And in turn, that just makes the Lakers a better overall team. The question about DeAndre Aiden isn’t on the offensive end. It’s really on the defensive end. And we’ll talk about that in a few moments, how he could really impact this team on defense. But going back to Jackson Hayes a little bit, I really don’t mind him off the bench to be honest with you. Like I wanted the Lakers to bring Hayes back as a bench big because I think Hayes is kind of a poor man’s DeAndre Aton where he offers a little bit of a similar skill set. You know that he’s a highf flyier. He can play in that dunker spot. He can catch lobs from Luca. He can do those things on the offensive end. It’s just a matter of him being able to hold his own defensively, which frankly he hasn’t so far in his Lakers tenure. And a big reason why the Lakers lost in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves was simply because they could not protect the rim whatsoever. Like I said, I don’t think Hayes is a really bad player. Look, after the All-Star break last season, he was pretty solid, especially on the offensive end where he averaged eight points. His true shooting percentage was 71 and a half and had he had an offensive rating of 111.9. And those numbers are all indicative of someone who does contribute positively on the offensive end. Now, he only did play in 15 minutes a night, and I do think that’s his sweet spot for the most part. 15 minutes a night is right where you want Jackson Hayes to be. If you’re playing him more than 15 and you’re getting into the 20 to 25 minute range, that’s where you’ll see less effectiveness from Hayes because the more he’s on the defensive end of the court, the more the other team is going to have opportunities to score just because he just isn’t going to be someone that’s going to be able to stop anybody on the defensive end. But on a positive note for Jackson Hayes, him and Luca absolutely had chemistry offensively. Like I was talking to some people around the Lakers organization and people who watch Lakers basketball on a night-to-ight basis like we all do and they were saying like they think Jackson Hayes could get paid as like a legitimate starting free agent center in the league. Now I think that notion kind of was dispelled once the playoffs happened and the disaster that that was. So I don’t think we’re going to go that far. But I do think that Hayes established himself as a role player in the NBA as a backup center who can play your 15 minutes a night and who can go out, catch lobs, and bring energy to a team. That’s absolutely a role that somebody can have in the NBA. And Hayes has kind of carved that out for himself. Now, coming up in just a second, we’re going to talk about how DeAndre Aton can impact the Lakers in 2025 in a positive way. We’ll do that in just a moment. But before we do, please go get yourself a Laker sweatshirt right now. If you haven’t taken advantage of this deal, what are you doing? This was a $65 sweatshirt. It’s on sale for $20. Chadsports.com/lakers sweatshirt is the place to go find it. And we’ll have that link in the comments and description of today’s show. You can support the channel by using that link, but you can also go get yourself a Lakers hoodie for the season. Fall is just around the corner. Fall starts in what, a week or so, even though it’s still hot as heck out there. Go get yourself a Laker sweatshirt. Prepare for the season right now at chatsports.com/lakers sweatshirt. The major impact DeAndre Aton can have is on the defensive side, the paint, and rebounding. Eightton’s always been a pretty solid rebounder in the league. He He’s had multiple seasons of averaging 10 plus rebounds a night. LA just last season averaged 10.2 boards, and he kind of protected the paint all right last year. It wasn’t the best uh defensive performance from Aton in Portland. And again, he only played in 40 games, but uh his defensive field goal percentage at 47.9 in the paint really isn’t a bad number. The defensive rating isn’t great though at 116.8. You’d like that to be down a little bit, but again, he was playing on a really bad team in Portland. And I do think that Aton on a true contending team like the team that he was on in Phoenix that made the NBA finals and that was making multiple playoff runs during his tenure there. He was a pretty solid paint defender and a solid rebounder as well. And you know look last year on the Lakers Luca was the best rebounder on the team and it wasn’t even close. They need someone who can go clean up the glass for them alongside Donuchen. It’s good that Luca is a good rebounder because I think having a guard as a good rebounder isn’t is a great advantage for any team because when you grab the ball off the rim and it’s already in a guard’s hands, it just takes a step out of the process of making an outlet pass to a guard or finding your guard and slowing down the offense. Like you can just grab it and go. But having a guy like Aiden who can go up there and share the load of the rebounding is going to help Luca and this team out tremendously. And not to mention this, like I mentioned, we have seen Aiden make a deep playoff run with the Suns. They made it to the finals in 2021 against Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks. They made it to the second round against Luca and the Mavericks before losing in seven. Like, this team could absolutely make a run. I think this team is better than the Phoenix Suns team that went to the finals. Like, yeah, they had Devin Booker playing at his peak, but this team has a prime, motivated, and hungry Luca Donic. You still have a 40-year-old LeBron James who is still playing at a very high level in the NBA even though this might be his last season. You have Austin Reeves who is coming off a career year averaging 20 points heading into a contract year. So, you know, he’s going to be motivated as well. Ruy Hachimura heading into a contract year. You know, he’ll be motivated and ready to go. And then I like some of the role players like Jackson Hayes, like Jared Vanderbilt, and a couple other guys on this team that will absolutely contribute as well. I love Marcus Smart. I think he’s going to be a defensive stalwart for this team. Like the Lakers are built for a deep playoff run and it absolutely does start with Luca, but I think DeAndre Aton is a guy that could really really help them out. The playoff run that he had in 2021 when the Suns ended up making the finals was frankly very good. He averaged 15 and N. Uh he his true shooting percentage 67 and a half and then a defensive rating of 107.8 which is much closer to where you want it to be as a center. And look, I think Aiden, if he’s able to stay healthy with this team, only played in 40 games last year, and that was a combination of both injury and just the Sun saying, “Hey, like we’re trying to lose some games here, so we really don’t want you to play that often.” Uh, if he can stay healthy for this team and he can be a positive contributor on a night-to-ight basis, it will make a world of difference for the Los Angeles Lakers. when Luca with Luca and LeBron and Reeves, you don’t need anything crazy from Aiden on the offensive end. Like, this team is going to be able to score points. You’re going to get 30 a night from Luca. You’re going to get hopefully 20 to 22 a night from Austin Reeds and similar numbers from LeBron James. Eightton will give you 10 to 15 a night. That’s really all you need from him. You don’t need anything crazy from Aton on offense. You just need him to effectively run the pick and roll. But really, where the Lakers need him, and I’m praying, you need to lock in on defense. DeAndre Aton, you need to protect the paint for this team. You need to be able to rebound at an effective rate for this team. And you need to be someone that they can trust defensively to play in the postseason because the Lakers did not have that guy last year in Jackson Hayes. I still think Hayes can contribute positively to this team, but he is not in the same world as DeAndre Aton is as far as NBA centers go. I hope can take this team to the next level, and if he does, the Lakers might be looking at a parade in Hollywood next June. And I’m dead serious about that. If you are ready to see DeAndre Aton in the purple and gold, we are just a couple of weeks away from Lakers training camp and just about a month away from the season beginning. Comment DeAndre Aton down below. Show our new center some love down in the comment section. That will do it for today’s show, guys. I appreciate you for tuning in to the Lakers Report by Chat Sports. As always, hit that subscribe button at youtube.com/lakersv. The more subscribers we get off this video, the more videos we’ll be able to make week in and week out. Hit that subscribe button, hit the like button, share it to your friends, and we’ll see you soon on the next episode of the Lakers Report. [Music]

This Los Angeles Laker will MAKE or BREAK the 2025 NBA season for the Purple and Gold. In the NBA offseason the Lakers signed center Deandre Ayton in NBA free agency, and he will play a massive role in the Lakers’ success this season. The biggest issue for the Lakers in 2024 revolved around Jaxson Hayes and the center position as a lack of depth led to their early elimination in the 2025 NBA Playoff against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lakers Report host Jeffrey Cooperstein is here to breakdown how Deandre Ayton will impact this Lakers’ squad in 2025 as well as highlight how Jaxson Hayes can still have a meaningful role.

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Jaxson hayes stats post All-Star break (25 GAMES)
– 14.6 MPG
– 8.1 PPG
– 71.5 TS%
– 111.9 OFFRTG

Deandre Ayton stats in 2024:
– 14.4 PPG
– 10.2 RPG
– 47.9 DFG%
– 116.8 DRTG

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Deandre Ayton stats in 2021 Finals run:
– 15.8 PPG
– 8.9 RPG
– 67.4 TS%
– 107.8 DRTG

MORE Los Angeles Lakers news & rumors:
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– MAJOR Lakers Trade Rumors On Austin Reaves: Lakers Mavericks Trade Happening AGAIN? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r3xjJOeTsg
– 🚨MAJOR REPORT: Austin Reaves In Line For MASSIVE Contract? Lakers Rumors Are HOT – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E77Bkazfqs4

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Lakers notable bench players:
– Jaxson Hayes
– Dalton Knecht
– Jarred Vanderbilt
– Shake Milton
– Bronny James

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