Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Deandre Ayton Doesn't "Get It"... but Is He a Bust for the Lakers?

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

Oh, Deandre Ayton.  As the Lakers season has tailed off after a hot start, so too has Ayton's play. He is both symptom and disease, becoming less involved offensively and less engaged overall, which makes him less involved, which makes him less engaged, and so on. But because Ayton can't give himself the ball, he's also a good measure for how little the ball moves these days with the offense. That said, Ayton (who doesn't exactly have much equity anywhere around the league) was the focus of unwanted attention following a feature from ESPN's Dave McMenamin.  He made a very poor comparison to himself and Rockets center Clint Capela that isn't aging well (and has only been alive for a few days), and other aspects of his colorful personality have emerged as well.  We recorded this episode before the Lakers lost Thursday in Phoenix -- Ayton was particularly bad -- but we opened to a lot of questions.  What curve is Ayton being graded on? Is he a bust for the Lakers? Has he met expectations for this season, based on his salary with the Lakers? What now? Because when Ayton plays well, the Lakers tend to win.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky    Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Turbo Tax For a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit https://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. DoorDashFrom tipoff to overtime, stay in your bag and order on DoorDash.Get snacks, drinks, gear — whatever gets you through the season — delivered right to your door.DoorDash. In your bag all season long. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use codeLOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNBA 5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at 5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Use your Profit Boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. Play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A feature on ESPN.com has DeAndre Aiton taking heat. Is he once again a bust, or is there still time for him to reclaim the season? That's next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making Locked on Lakers. First listen to every day Monday through Friday,

no matter how where you get your podcast, Spotify, Apple, maybe you're one of the 37,000-plus subscribers, Locked on Lakers YouTube channel, Andy, no matter how you do it, you are part of making the Lock On Podcast Network, number one, in this or any other known universe. I'm Brian Komeneski with Andy Kamaneski, who covers Lakers for nearly 20 years with ESPN, with the LA Times, with the athletic. And in that time, Andy, we've covered some colorful characters, but very few of them, to my knowledge, have alter egos or do cartwheels or drink out of water bottles that are

labeled crunk juice. But that is DeAndre Aiton, according to a new story from ESPN. The story came out on Thursday. Lakers play Thursday night. We're recording this for Friday, but we haven't watched Aiton play on Thursday in Phoenix. We don't know if he's going to play well, if he's going to play poorly. That's actually kind of the point is that he, his performance is inconsistent. It's sort of all over the place. All of those things we mention in there, in this, in this story from David Men, I mean, about DeAndre Aiton. He is getting just tremendous amounts of pile on. The thing that is, I think, gotten the most attention was a scene that Dave describes after the Orlando game,

in which, by the way, Aiton played great. So he in the locker room after the game heading in the showers, yells, obviously loud enough to be heard and for people don't understand, like, if you're yelling stuff in the locker room and the reporters are there, it is fair game for the reporters to write down and observe what they're seeing. He wasn't trying to be quoted, but he wasn't also not trying to be quoted. The quote, as Dave reports, that they're trying to make me Clint Capella, Aiton 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 Capella, Aiton says. And this quote has made the rounds and it has, Aiton is getting hammered for it. And I have my thoughts, Andy, but what are yours? Well, to begin, one of the big thoughts that I have is that I highly recommend people read the entire piece rather than focus just on the poll quotes or the poll paragraphs. And I'm saying those paragraphs or quotes don't matter. As we're going to get into, I think in a lot of ways, they are instructive for maybe some bigger picture things going on with DeAndre Aiton or some of the things that prevent DeAndre Aitin from reaching what people at least initially thought was his ceiling when he was drafted number one overall. Like this piece, for example,

there is a lot in it about what DeAndre Aiton has done well this season. season, like including some of the grunt work stuff that DeAndre Aiton is not associated with at all. Aiton has also been disappointing on other fronts throughout the season, particularly since 2026 rolled around. And I think this piece illustrates, and we'll get into it, how the overarching issue for DeAndre may be that he is just a very mercurially quirky guy who either can't or maybe won't read the room. Yeah. And this quote, you know, the Capella thing, I will, I'm, I am assuming he doesn't mean Clint Capella in his prime, you know, 10 years ago, Clint Capella, who was a very good player,

by the way. I think he thinks he's probably saying that more thinking of Clint Capella now. But I don't know. But either way, the problem with that, as it's been perceived is like, well, the qualities of Clint Capella are kind of, you know, especially prime. Clint Capella, what the Lakers could use now. Capela was a great rim protector. He was an excellent rebounder, good vertical threat when he was at his, you know, at his peak. And, you know, known as a guy who was defensive oriented and all these other things, not a score, you know,

generally gets all of his points with dunks and lobs and things like that. That kind of center would be great for the Wakers this season. And, you know, in some ways, Aiden, we talked about it at the beginning of the season, kind of talked about doing a lot of that stuff, even though it was well outside his career performance to this point. Not that Aten's been a bust, like totally unproductive Anthony Bennett style.

But where he has excel, it's been as an offensive player, you know, a guy who could put up 20 points when you need it, a good rebounder, but not necessarily a rim protector, that kind of thing. So the profile is very different from Clint Capella, who happens to be the type of center that would benefit the Lakers right now. Well, and the Capella quote in a lot of ways, I think,

encapsulates, you know, what he thinks he can do, like the best ways to help winning, but also where I think he's got some blind spots, or again, just doesn't read the room. Like, if you are asking broadly for DeAndre Aiton to be Clint Capella as a primary role, like that's why you're bringing him in. That's the expectation. That is both unrealistic.

It's like telling Luca, we need you to be Lou Dort. Right. That's not a thing. But it's also a mistake if that's the vision. However, though, in some games over the course of 82, DeAndre Aiton is going to be asked to enthusiastically imitate Clint Capella, whichever the hell version he's thinking of, because that's what the game requires.

And these are the things he's talked about doing. Either way, and this really gets to the problem, D'Andre Aiton does not have the agency right now at this stage of his career to say that quote out loud. Like, you can think that. The F. Yeah. It's probably not great if he's thinking it, but saying it.

Yeah. Saying it. And to your point, he's, you said earlier, he's been around the league long enough to recognize the pitfalls of saying that out loud. So either he doesn't care or he wasn't thinking it through, which I think is really the root of the issue. Right. After the break. What could he possibly gain from yelling that?

I have an answer to that question. and I will also tell people, because we're talking about Aiden does a bust again based on this. And I will explain why people are framing that question

way off to the detriment of Aden and the Lakers. We'll do all that next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by DoorDash. The season's heating up. And DoorDash has a way to keep fans

in their bag the whole way through, whether you're watching the highlights, the tunnel fits are just your favorite. player. DoorDash makes the entire season more fun. Every player has their bag with DoorDash fans going to have one, too. DoorDash keeps your snacks stock the gear fresh and your watch

party vibes on point. There are nights. Your team's going to stress you out. Laker fans understand this lately, unfortunately. Let DoorDash become the post-game therapy. Sometimes you need dessert, your comfort food now or snacks for the post-game beverage or to

send a phone charger to the friend that's always at 2 percent, but this is your ritual after the game. You always text back and forth. You need the ritual to continue. From tip off to overtime, stay in your bag, order on DoorDash. Keep the snacks, drinks, and gear, whatever gets you to the season delivered right to your door. DoorDash in your bag all season long. Locked on Lakers also brought to you by five-hour energy.

Welcome to the Five Hour Energy Flavor Draft for the 18 flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow, cotton candy, and Shirley, Crunk Juice. The joke's really, it's a great day for Crunk Juice. Just to make it clear, five-hour energy does not have for Crunk Juice. That we're aware of. Maybe there's a 19th coming. I'm not sure. It's a sleeper.

It's definitely a sleeper in this draft. Undrafted Free Agent Crunk Juice. I've got my number one pick for the five-hour energy flavor draft. It could be the next Austin Reeves. Who know? They're going to sign them and develop Crunk Juice. juice and then it'll become an all-star. Cherry is mine.

It's a bold cherry candy-style flavor. You know, you know what I'm talking about it. It's not like actual cherries, but like that candy flavor for cherries, but still has that little tart edge that cherries have. Plus, it's like red, you know, it gives you that real good cherry red thing, so you know your drinking cherry flavor. I appreciate that. So that's where I'm going on my board.

Five-hour energy gives you a boost with zero sugar. It has a lot of upcoming flavor innovation plan. maybe there is a crunk juice flavor coming. I don't know. Find your new favorite flavor of five-hour energy shots available online at 5-hourenergy.com or at Amazon. Block on Lakers is brought to you by GameTime. There's nothing like being in an NBA arena, the crowd, the energy, the moment, seeing it in person.

Getting tickets, though, that part has not always been so simple. And that's why Game Time has been the go-to app for scoring tickets fast, without the hassle, it puts the advantage back where it belongs. with you, the fans, regain your power. You can pull up the GameTime app, pick an upcoming NBA game, and you got tickets locked in within minutes. And all in price up front, there's no surprise fees at the checkout. There's no way.

What the hell was this charge? GameTime has features like seat views that makes the decision easy before buying, especially with an app that's super user-friendly and super user-intuitive. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with GameTime. download the GameTime app, create account. Use the code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. That's code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today.

And remember, it's gamet.com. One of the great ironies of this situation that he yelled out Clint Capella, he was available this off-season. The Rockets end up getting him in a sign and trade. They gave him, I think, a little about $22 million over a three-year contract. Now, do I know if the Lakers exactly like, I don't know where they got on a Kepaella. He was a name that we talked about a lot heading into the offseason. But the Lakers weren't going to give Capella three years.

The fact that Aiton is on this team is in part related to the idea that they didn't have money to go get a higher-end center. Luke Cornett signed for $11 million a year. The Lakers couldn't have afforded him either. We talked a lot at the beginning of the year about how Aiton was going to be viewed and how Aiton should be viewed. This story and the way people are reacting to it tells me that he is still being evaluated on the scale of former number one overall pick D'Andre Aiton and his opportunity to show that he can finally focus that talent and become part of something

and put the doubters, when I get a lot of the reaction to it, I think there are a lot of people who are looking at it that way. As opposed to, for the Lakers, what has he been able to do compared to the alternatives

and for the money? And for that, he's been kind of up and down and good. They're better off with him than without him. And they really need to figure out a way that they can maximize what he does because they win when he is productive?

Well, look, I can't speak to how everybody is, you know, the royal, everybody is evaluating D'Andre Ait and now, I am seeing a lot of, and maybe these are two sides of the same coin, they all lead to the same place. I am seeing a lot of fans and even media, not so much evaluating this through the prism of will he ever live up to being a number one overall pick. What I'm seeing a lot of is the idea of you have an opportunity. in front of you to at minimum prove you are serious. Like you are serious about doing things that lead to winning.

And case in point, which I think is where D'Andre Aiton can be kind of his own worst enemy, both in terms of inconsistency with play, you know, sometimes lack of attentiveness, particularly defensively or a lack of energy over the course of an entire game or whatever. It comes in, Dave talks about, even guys on the team, you know, Marcus Smart talks about that. This is not consistent enough. But it overshadows how, and the piece points this out, like the work that Aiton has done, for example, as a screener in Dave's piece, he has set 15.7 on-ball screens per game for Luca Donchich, the third most among duos to run 200 or more plays this season. According to ESPN research, he has also averaged 3.7 screen assist, a pick that leads directly to a player.

making a field goal this season, the fourth most in the league. Quote, he does a great job creating contact and knocking defenders off to allow playmakers to make plays. A team source told ESPN. And it's something that, frankly, he's been pretty committed to. And like things like that, you have to watch this in order to know that it's happening. If you're just looking at the raw numbers, you're not going to appreciate what Aiton does. But that interaction with, you know, the Capella quote and some of the

general goofiness or, you know, the idea that they went out and made Dominaten T-shirts with like the lion and stuff like that. As a specific motivating force for Dianne Eton, it raises the question of whether or not he recognizes what those screening moments mean and how important they are to being seen as a winner. Like, I wonder if he really does not really do not really. his situation well enough. And like what ultimately,

because he said at his introductory press conference, pretty, I thought, convincingly, he has said he does not like the perception of being seen as a non-winning player or the idea of not being a part of basketball that matters. If DeAndre Aitin can't embrace the idea, like truly embrace the idea of, you know what,

for four or five games, I got to channel my inner Clint Capella and I get it and I got to go out there and do it. And I have to, I have to just trust that it will be appreciated and that it will help the perception of me. And I can find in that the rewards. Then unfortunately, I, it feels right now like DeAndre Aiton is not cashing in on literally or monocerely. I'm so glad you said that because. He has a massive opportunity in front of him with this season. And Aiden, I think he has a real chance of falling out of the league after this contract

because comments like the Capella thing are going to make, I think, teams around the league believe he will not do whatever role is asked of him. Correct. If he's needed as a backup, he won't do it. He's a bad candidate to be a backup. There's no question. But you're right. To your point before, like, is this a.

second other side of the other side of the coin yes this is exactly i think the other side of the coin you know is because they are two separate questions is d'andre aiden taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him and recognizing the opportunity and doing all that stuff in the best interests of his own career no no he is not and i think at this point he's not katie two of the you were talking about like you can say the right things and i don't think he knows how. I think at this point it's pretty clear he just doesn't understand, you know, or have that thing in you that makes you really, you know, say, you know what, I, there's a 20% here of attention of this, that, whatever, that I'm not tapping into that I need to. And I

need to develop the discipline to do it every day. He doesn't have that. I think it's pretty clear. It's, it's a separate question from, has he been helpful to the Lakers this year? Has he been worth $8 million. Has he been better than any other $8 million center that they were going to be able to find? So the answer to the first question, has he been like disappointing to himself? Yeah. Has he hit the upside that I hoped he would hit? No, not on a consistent basis.

Has he been good for the Lakers overall for $8 million? In my mind, yes. And the proof of that, when he is performing at a higher level, when he gets his 15,000, and 10 and things like that, the Lakers almost never lose. And it's not been one game or two games or three games. It's been like 20 of them or close to it. So if you said that, if you could drum up statistics like that, about any other $8 million player in the league,

you'd say that guy's been a success. This is the problem of the world that Aitin lives in and breaking it down. And I think it's fascinating, but he might not. But anyway, we will have plenty of... I don't know if he's aware enough to find it fascinating. I don't know if he is or he isn't. But, you know, I did notice Dave opens with that play, the final play where Luca passed up the shot against Orlando. And the thing that people might have missed on that play is Aiton screens everyone on that play to get Luca loose.

Anyway, leave us questions, comments, your thoughts about Aiton, whether or not you think he's been successful, what the Lakers. The other thing Dave points out, the Lakers need to figure out how to get the most out of him this year, because as he says, and we note, when he plays well, they win. Like a lot of things that are complicated, it doesn't change the fact that they do need to involve him more on a regular basis if you even want to get the most out of an imperfect version of DeAndre 8.

Yeah, when he said at the beginning of season, if he was exactly who he's been throughout his entire career, which is kind of what he's done, then the Lakers, he'd still be better than what the Lakers had last year. and I absolutely still think that's true. Anyway, Lock on Lakers on YouTube is where you can hang out with over 37,000

subscribers to the channel. We'll see everyone next time.