It was the blistering stare that set it all in motion. LeBron James shot Deandre Ayton the coldest stare during the game in Sacramento yesterday. Right after, he was taking responsibility for the big guy’s lack of touches. Now Ayton’s inconsistency has struck again, and the critiques are piling up. Someone who has had the chance to play with Bron and Luka Doncic on separate occasions added to the criticism. And to think this all started at a bench with Luka.

After James’ viral stare, Markieff and Marcus Morris discussed Ayton’s future on The Morris Code. They were surprised that the Lakers invested in him at all.

After Marcus said that the Lakers should trade him away, Markieff goes as far as to say that the Lakers will be Ayton’s “last stop.” After a disclaimer that he’s not critiquing, he reveals a lesser-known incident.

“I sat on the bench, Luka, whoever, and we watched Ayton play in Portland. ‘Some of the s— he was doing, we couldn’t believe. And Luka was sitting right next to him. We’re looking at each other like, ‘What the f— is that?’”

Now, his comments are somewhat open to interpretation. Markieff played for the Dallas Mavericks before they traded him and Maxi Kleber to LA, along with Doncic, on February 2, 2025. That offseason, Doncic scouted Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart to meet his needs on the defensive end.

From Markieff’s comments, it appears that Doncic noticed Ayton when the Mavs played against the Portland Trail Blazers. Seemingly, Doncic and Morris were not impressed by Ayton.

But Markieff was definitely surprised the Lakers went and got the Blazers reject. “I’m already in my head knowing when they got Ayton. ‘Oh, that’s not going to work.’ Because the s—, first of all, he don’t play hard.”

This is not a new criticism of Ayton. And fans are starting to lose clarity on the big man’s purpose within the team.

Deandre Ayton’s fit with Luka Doncic is called into question

The Lakers apparently and very quietly cut Markieff Morris in the offseason, around the time they signed Deandre Ayton. Markieff is not in the locker room right now, but he’s got his connections to it. Only an episode ago, he was praising Ayton for breaking up the fight between Luka Doncic and Dennis Schroder before it escalated.

Ayton’s those good moments, like hosting team dinners, go along with the low-scoring and injury-ridden nights. It gets worse that the Lakers have won as soon as Ayton left the floor with an injury.

In the preseason, he claimed he didn’t need to be the leading scorer. Then, in 2026, JJ Redick says Ayton is frustrated by the lack of touches. Ayton also claimed, “Bigs can’t feed themselves.” That earned LeBron’s sympathy and fans’ ire.

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Referring to this moment, the Morris twins claim that Ayton is not a “sacrificial big,” and he doesn’t mesh with Luka Doncic’s style because of that.

After Ayton vocalized his frustrations, Doncic and James included him in the offense. And he had some very productive games. He had a double-double, 13 points and rebounds each, against the Kings.

But he’s had empty moments on the court. Clips of him not going for a board or not making the effort to block a shot started filling the Internet. His passivity in the post became the lightning rod for criticism.

In the second quarter against the Kings, James stared at Ayton grimly. That look seemed to tell LakeShow that even he was tired of Ayton’s lack of energy and effort. Fans, like the Morris twins, were convinced that it meant Ayton’s career in LA or in the NBA was over altogether.

If Markieff is to be believed, Ayton is not a good fit in the Luka-centric offense Bron and the Lakers are building. That leaves the looming trade deadline as a timer on Ayton’s time in LA.