Some players walk into pressure. Deandre Ayton? Well, he seems to have been born into it. And now, he’s being dared into it with national pride, millions in future earnings, and Lakers history all on the line. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s just how it sounds when Mychal Thompson opens his mouth. The former Lakers champ and father of Klay Thompson didn’t tiptoe around expectations on a recent episode of “Hoops Talk with Allen Sliwa.”

Instead, he delivered a full-throated challenge to Ayton, who just signed a 2-year, $16.2 million deal with the Lakers after being bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers. “It comes down to Deandre Ayton and how bad he wants it,” Thompson said. Then came the punchline: “Twenty points, 12 rebounds, one block per quarter… how easy is that?” Wait, per quarter?

If you just did a double-take, you’re not alone. That’s a line fit for 2K on rookie mode. But Thompson wasn’t joking. He believes Ayton, with his size, touch, and athleticism, should be that dominant. Of course, that’s the eternal riddle with Ayton. But that’s not all, because there’s one more wrinkle here: the Bahamas. With Thompson and Rick Fox, Ayton becomes just the third Bahamian to wear the Lakers jersey. So, naturally, this isn’t just a random contract. It’s a national torch.

Ayton’s performance in L.A. will echo across the Caribbean, where Lakers fandom runs deep. Thompson said, “The Lakers are the Bahamas’s favorite team… Some people pull forward down there, but the Lakers are the Bahamas’ favorite team. And now one of their native sons has a chance to put on a Laker uniform… And he understands now how much his popularity and is going and attention he’s going to get going to go up in the Bahamas because he now is playing for the Lakers…” And he didn’t stop there. Enter the opportunity.

“So if all that doesn’t motivate him to want to make his countrymen proud, then there’s nothing that uh can be done. But I think uh he will understand the enormous opportunity he has here and responsibility he has now being a Laker center,“ Thompson declared. Ayton, for his part, is a physical marvel—7’0″, with a 7’5″ wingspan, feather-soft hands, and a body that looks like it was sketched by Michelangelo after binge-watching 90s NBA tape.

Yet for all that, Ayton’s career has felt less like a straight line and more like a zigzag of “almosts” and “what ifs.” Drafted No. 1 overall in 2018 ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young, Ayton was supposed to be the centerpiece in Phoenix. And to be fair, he helped carry the Suns to the 2021 Finals. But inconsistency, motor issues, and a public fallout with Monty Williams turned the vibe sour.

By the time he got shipped to Portland in 2023, it was less “fresh start” and more “necessary divorce.” In Portland, he put up solid 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds on 56.6% shooting this season. But the Blazers were deep in the tank, and Ayton’s impact was as quiet as the Moda Center in March. The numbers? Good. The tape? Shrug. That’s the contradiction that haunts Ayton. He can be dominant. But the league’s never been about potential—it’s about persistence. And that’s where Thompson’s callout hits hardest. Because Ayton’s not just playing for minutes in L.A. He’s playing for his future. But Thompson wasn’t done just yet.

Ayton, the Lakers, and $200 million on the line 

He laid it out as simply as he could: if Ayton plays like an All-Star, another $200 million could be waiting on the other side of this contract. If he coasts, he risks becoming another league journeyman with elite tools and a Wikipedia page full of “what could have been”. But Thompson had serious rhetorical questions.“If you want to make only two or three million bucks a year, I mean, I don’t think anyone wasn’t mind making that, then it’s up to you Deandre, or do you want to make 25 to 30 million bucks a year?” Thompson asked. Brutal, accurate, and probably what Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was thinking when he signed Ayton.

For the Los Angeles Lakers, though, this isn’t just a flier either. It’s a calculated bet. With Jaxson Hayes still on the roster and Dalton Knecht perpetually allergic to the five, there’s a massive opportunity for Ayton to seize a true starting role. “If you want to make another 200 million bucks, then prove it to us this year because he has a two-year deal. If he has a great season, he can opt out and then the Lakers can sign to a long-term deal at more of his uh talent value, which he’s a which he definitely is capable of playing at,” said Thompson. He gives the Lakers something they haven’t had in years. A big who can rebound, score efficiently without needing the ball, and actually hold his own against OKC for more than five possessions.

Defensively, Deandre Ayton’s not a natural rim protector—he averaged just 1.0 block per game this season… but he has the tools. The question, as always, is effort. Can he switch? Can he hedge? And can he play with the urgency the Lakers’ scheme demands? But to his favor, offensively, Ayton is basically a dream for a LeBron-led offense: elite in the short roll, soft touch around the rim, and good hands in traffic. The Lakers don’t need him to be Embiid. They need him to be reliable.

So yes, there’s pressure. But there’s also a possibility. At 26, Ayton still has a chance to rewrite the narrative. To stop being the guy who was taken before Luka (even though people think that Ayton doesn’t complement the LeBron-Luka duo), and start being the guy who helped extend LeBron’s twilight with rim-running, board-snatching, shot-altering brilliance.

Mychal Thompson might be reaching with his 20-and-12-every-quarter demand. But maybe, just maybe, that’s the kind of fire Ayton needs. Because if he ever figures it all out? Watch out. Deandre Ayton could be the Lakers’ most important swing piece. Or just another name on a long list of Lakers bigs who were supposed to matter.