Al Horford is starting to turn it around at the Golden State Warriors since his return from injury on Christmas Day, but even during his early season struggles, there was no sense of problematic frustration from the veteran center.
The same can't be said for the Los Angeles Lakers who've hit a new nightmare with Deandre Ayton, culminating in the former No. 1 overall pick being benched for almost all of the fourth-quarter during Friday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Al Horford signing looks even better after Lakers experience Deandre Ayton difficulty
Horford and Ayton were arguably the most interesting big men in free agency during the offseason, having theoretically been available to many teams as they signed two-year, $16.2 and two-year, $11.7 million contracts respectively.
Golden State were quickly mentioned as a possible Ayton team after he was bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers, but he was quickly snapped up by the Lakers who had a void to fill at center following the blockbuster Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade.
The Warriors would have firmly had their eyes set on Horford by that point anyway, having finally confirmed the signing of the 39-year-old following Jonathan Kuminga's long free agency stalemate.
While that signing is looking better by the day as Horford has averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and a block on 50% shooting from 3-point range in his last four games, things are seemingly going south at the Lakers who are learning exactly why other teams previously moved on from Ayton.
As opposed to Horford, Ayton's numbers have been on the decline since his two-game absence from injury. That led to not only the late-game benching from JJ Redick on Friday, but also honest comments from the head coach on Ayton's frustration right now.
“I think he’s frustrated, doesn’t feel like he’s getting the ball," Redick said of Ayton. “I think most guys, we talk about it as a team, you don’t feel like you’re getting the ball, the rest of your focus kind of wanes a little bit. I think that’s human nature for most NBA players."
While Ayton is capable of playing a bigger role and putting up bigger numbers, this is the exact sort of reason why the Warriors would have preferred Horford who you're never going to hear these kind of quotes about.
Could you imagine Ayton with Golden State? A team who historically doesn't feature their centers much when it comes to shot attempts. Honestly, this issue would have likely emerged even earlier in the season.
The Warriors have already faced it to some degree with Jonathan Kuminga who, over the years, has undoubtedly been frustrated (whether rightly or wrongly) over his role in the offense and overall playing time.
Golden State are now ready to move on from Kuminga in the coming weeks, but this latest Ayton issue could persist and grow to something that may derail what is an otherwise strong start to the season for the Lakers.