Deandre Ayton arrived in California with a lot of baggage following him from the previous stops of his NBA journey. One thing should be crystal clear in its truth despite that: Ayton is unquestionably an upgrade over Jaxson Hayes.
The topic came up on a recent episode of The Hoop Collective. Ayton is far from perfect, but the new Los Angeles Lakers starting center is still a step in the right direction for the franchise.
Tim MacMahon said, "He needs to turn a corner in the maturity realm as well. There's a lot of flaws there, but they were starting Jaxson Hayes at center last season.