The general feeling Los Angeles Lakers fans have these days is that Deandre Ayton has been a disappointment this season. The seven-footer was signed over the summer after having his previous contract bought out to fill the huge hole at the center position the Lakers had following last February’s trade for Luka Doncic.
Ayton has helped the team on the boards, but his offense, especially over the last several weeks, has been very up and down. On Tuesday against the Orlando Magic, he had 21 points and 13 rebounds, but when the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, he mustered only two points and four rebounds and got off just three shot attempts in 23 minutes.
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In a recent ESPN article, Ayton was quoted as saying that the Lakers have been trying to turn him into Clint Capela. Capela, who plays for the Houston Rockets, reacted on his Instagram account by disagreeing with Ayton’s quote.
To be fair, Capela has always been a different type of center than Ayton. Ayton has ample offensive skills and is not just a lob threat, but also has the ability to post up and hit mid-range jumpers. Capela, even during his prime several years ago, mostly got points on lob passes, offensive rebounds and transition opportunities.
Capela has also always been a better rebounder and shot-blocker than Ayton has been. While Ayton has a career average of 10.2 rebounds a game, his shot-blocking and rim protection have always been lackluster and disappointing.
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The Lakers starting center is averaging 13 points on 66.5% field-goal shooting and 8.4 rebounds in 28.1 minutes a game so far this season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Clint Capela reacts to Deandre Ayton saying ‘I’m not no Clint Capela!’