Former All-Star Explains Why Lakers New Center Isn’t Enough to Fulfil LeBron James and Luka Doncic’s Hopes

If the 2025 NBA offseason has taught the basketball world anything, it is that the upcoming season in the Western Conference will be a bloodbath. Teams such as the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets made key moves to solidify their stance as championship contenders. Amid this frenzy, the Los Angeles Lakers also added a new Center in Deandre Ayton to their already formidable squad. But former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague doesn’t believe that’s nearly enough for the Lakers’ goals.

The one big hole the Lakers had entering the offseason was the need for a big man. Luckily, they acquired Ayton, who teams didn’t have on their radars entering free agency. The Portland Trail Blazers’ decision to release him opened the door for the Lakers to acquire him at market value.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka also notably managed to sign Power Forward Jake LaRavia. But other than these two prominent signings, any other news regarding free agent targets has been smokescreens.

While Lakers’ fans have been celebrating, Teague has warned them of being lulled into a false sense of security.

“Do I love it? No,” Teague said on the Club 520 Podcast. “I don’t think Deandre Ayton fits them. Luka needs a lob threat.”

Ayton can certainly dunk the basketball, but he doesn’t play above the rim. He finished the 2024-25 season with 71 dunks on the year. Guess who else had that same amount of dunks? LeBron James.

In comparison to other players that the Lakers had connections to, like Clint Capela (87 dunks) and Nicholas Claxton (119 dunks), Ayton seems to have fallen short.

But even though Teague isn’t a firm believer in Ayton, he does have faith that the Lakers will remain a competent team in the West. “Is this a top-four team in the West? They made it top five last year without Ayton,” Teague said.

Los Angeles may experience regular-season success, but they are still a ways away from winning a title with Ayton anchoring their defense. Without Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers simply don’t have much perimeter defense. The one way to make up for blow-by drives on the perimeter is to have a shot blocker big in the paint.

As it happens, that is perceived to be one of Ayton’s biggest weaknesses, something that is likely to be exploited when they go against a team with a skilled Center. It was one of the reasons the Phoenix Suns were unable to get over the hump in their 2021 NBA Finals run.

It may sound harsh off the bat, but the 26-year-old has provided seven years’ worth of sample size for Teague and other analysts to arrive at this decision. Of course, a change of scenery could open perhaps brings up an unprecedented change.