Walker Kessler was their big addition, highlighting a new center rotation that now excludes Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes. “It’s only one great center and a lot of good centers,” O’Neal told Heavy on Lakers. He likes Kessler, he likes the guys behind him, and he did not like Ayton. Shaquille O'Neal did not like Deandre Ayton but likes Walker KesslerWhen the Lakers signed Ayton in free agency last summer, it was pretty widely viewed as a solid swing move. As O’Neal noted, he’s a great center, which is exactly what the Lakers needed to pair alongside Doncic and Reaves moving forward.