The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the 2025 playoffs due largely to their glaring lack of depth, especially in the frontcourt. To address that issue, they brought in former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, hoping his size and rebounding would fill a long standing void at center. On paper, pairing him with a star driven offense made sense. However, tension has begun to surface.
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The Lakers are on a three game skid heading into their matchup against the Hawks on Tuesday, and while Ayton has been good in spurts, he has not been particularly impactful where the team needs him most, on the boards and on defense. Not only that, Ayton has publicly stated that he wants more touches on offense, a curious request considering LeBron James recently expressed the same sentiment.
That tension is only going to grow after what former Laker Markieff Morris has since revealed. Morris recently appeared on a stream and took shots at the Lakers for even bringing Ayton in. Why? Because he and Luka Doncic discussed Ayton’s shortcomings while sitting together on the bench.
“I sat on the bench with Luka, whoever, and we watched Ayton play in Portland. And, some of the sh*t he was doing, we couldn’t believe. Luka was sitting right next to me, and we looking at each other like, ‘What the f*ck was that?'” he asked.
To be fair, that is a question everyone within the Lakers organization should have been asking. Ayton was a major force during the Phoenix Suns’ 2021 NBA Finals run. Since then, he has gradually faded into obscurity.
“I sat on the bench with Luka, whoever, and we watched Ayton play in Portland. And, some of the sh*t he was doing — we couldn’t believe. Luka was sitting right next to me, and we looking at each other like, ‘What the f*ck was that?'”
– Markieff Morris pic.twitter.com/5M94Q72cMk
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) January 13, 2026
Ayton was with the Trail Blazers, and while Portland is not a city that would give him the level of media attention he may have hoped for, he did not play well enough to earn much of it anyway.
Now that he is on the biggest market team in the NBA outside of New York, things have not improved. Sure, head coach J.J. Redick has used him in late game situations, including recently, but it has not made a meaningful difference.
At some point, the Lakers will have to decide whether Ayton is a solution or just another problem they talked themselves into. Wanting a larger offensive role on a team already juggling egos, expectations, and championship urgency feels less like confidence and more like misalignment.
And when that sentiment is echoed by Luka Doncic, one of the game’s most perceptive stars, the tension is only going to grow. Ayton has a choice. He can block out the noise and start controlling the glass, or he could find himself on the trade block as quickly as he arrived in Los Angeles.
Because small cracks inside the locker room tend to widen quickly in Los Angeles. If Ayton does not either embrace a clearly defined role or back up his demands with consistent impact, the tension will not just linger, it will become the story.
