Udonis Haslem shares powerful support for the struggling Deandre Ayton

Udonis Haslem shares powerful support for the struggling Deandre Ayton originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been mostly focused on the trio of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James this season. They are the team's best players, but everyone knows they need help from the rest of the team.

A player who was brought in to help them is Deandre Ayton, who came in to be the starting center. After a couple of seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, he was waived, so the Lakers capitalized. Unfortunately, he has not been a great signing for the Lakers.

Deandre Ayton receives strong support from a former champion

This season, Ayton has not been the best center in the Western Conference. He has had some decent performances, but many Lakers fans have been unhappy with his inconsistency.

Despite his season-long problems, he does have decent numbers with 12.4 points and eight rebounds per game on 67.2% from the field. That should be good counting stats for any player, but Ayton seems to find ways to struggle.

MORE:JJ Redick provides the reason behind Deandre Ayton's latest issue

Against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, Ayton was decent. He scored 21 points for the Lakers as they won 119-103. While Ayton continues to get stick from the fans and some critics, he is getting support from former multi-time champion Udonis Haslem.

"I want you to know that you are still that guy. You have to shift your focus a little bit, and there are other things you have to do to help this team win, but you are still that guy. It's just in a different role, you just have to approach it differently," Haslem said in the post-game interview with Ayton on the NBA broadcast on Prime.

Those are some encouraging words from a three-time champion. Haslem might not have been a star player for the Miami Heat, but he knew how to contribute to a championship-winning team.

Ayton seemed like he appreciated all of Haslem's encouraging words, which should be a good sign for the Lakers. If he can put those words into his heart, the Lakers could have a dangerous center when the Playoffs roll around.

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