BREAKING: Luka Doncic’s remarks against Deandre Ayton ought to frighten Lakers supporters everywhere.

Fans should be wary of Luka Doncic’s ideas, despite his excitement at the Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of Deandre Ayton. 

Even if Luka Doncic’s early opinions on the Los Angeles Lakers signing Deandre Ayton are largely positive, the fan base should be terrified because the expectations are too high. Because of his part in the 2021 Phoenix Suns’ run to the NBA Finals, Dan Woike of The Athletic claims that Doncic is a supporter of the Ayton trade:

Furthermore, even though Doncic’s approval of the move is undoubtedly positive, he might be having unrealistic expectations. The 2021 Suns are not the 2026 Lakers. First and foremost, the squad the Lakers are assembling around Doncic and LeBron James for the upcoming season is very different than the one Ayton played a significant part in with the 2021 Suns. Although the fit is a little more uncomfortable, Doncic and James are a better team than Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Booker is much more at ease playing off the ball, but both players flourish when the ball is in their hands.

On top of that, the supporting cast was much better in Phoenix. Austin Reaves is a solid player, but he’s not a good enough defender to make up for Doncic and James’ deficiencies on that end (a 41-year-old James is far different defensively than he was even a few years ago). The same can be said for the likes of Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, and Gabe Vincent.

Jarred Vanderbilt is a four-man without a jump shot who is perhaps the best perimeter defender LA has on the team going into the upcoming season. In the meanwhile, the 2021 Suns had Jae Crowder, Cameron Johnson, and Mikal Bridges, who finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. In addition to being superior defenders to nearly every member of the Lakers’ current supporting cast, those three players also fit in much better offensively. Deandre Ayton has changed as a player. Perhaps most significantly,

Deandre Ayton has changed as a player.

He was a superb rim-runner, an automatic double-double, and an excellent inside defender when he was at his best with the Suns.

He’s still putting up his points and rebounds, but the rest of his game has severely fallen off, and his time with the Portland Trail Blazers exposed some unfortunate characteristics.

Since he joined Portland, Ayton’s subpar work ethic and attitude problems have come to light, which doesn’t bode well for his fit in one of the most pressure-filled environments in sports. Even during the latter portion of his time in Phoenix, he got into quibbles with coach Monty Williams.

It makes perfect sense for Doncic to be excited about the move, but him likening it to the 2021 Suns could be setting himself (and fans) up for some serious disappointment.