The skepticism around Deandre Ayton being a high-level contributor for the Lakers this upcoming season is both real and substantiated.

There is no need to go over every single data point fueling the doubts that follow Ayton to Los Angeles, but safe to say a former No. 1 overall pick who was unceremoniously traded away from the team that drafted him and then waived with over $30 million still owed to him by the team that had acquired him just two seasons prior is viewed as damaged goods for a reason.

When I vocally advocated for Ayton to make his way to the Lakers earlier this offseason — this was before he was bought out, by the way — I was not necessarily bombarded with “who is this dummy?” responses, but the folks who wanted no part of Ayton were not shy in explaining to me their reaso

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