Deandre Ayton has wanted to showcase his talents on the big stage, and he'll get the opportunity to do so with the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I'm somewhere where it counts now," Ayton said at Lakers media day. "And I'm happy that everybody gets to see it. I'm happy where, as a player, as myself, I get a chance to prove something big on a big stage."
Deandre Ayton faces prove-it season under Lakers spotlight
The Ayton experiment didn't go according to plan in Portland. He's in his prime at 27 years old, yet is coming off a career low in points per game (14.