Hall of Fame former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash (who is definitely not in the Hall of Fame because of his brief, injury-riddled Los Angeles tenure) has a big question about LA’s most important new offseason piece.

More news: Lakers’ LeBron James Set to Make Unfortunate Personal History With Injury Setback

During a fresh interview on The Ringer’s “The Zach Lowe Show,” Nash revealed his high expectations for former No. 1 draft pick center Deandre Ayton.

The 7-foot Arizona product inked a two-year, $16.2 million deal with Los Angeles over the summer. He has a player option for 2026-27.

“Ayton, I mean, he’s got to have a better year. We know he can put up numbers, but is he really going to roll? Like, that’s my big question there,” Nash said. “Is he really going to roll to the basket? Because it doesn’t really help the Lakers or Luka [Doncic] help the Lakers if he wants to pop or if he wants to slow down, you know, in the short role and become a playmaker.”

Ayton did emerge as a major lob threat during his days playing with the Phoenix Suns alongside another future Hall of Fame point guard, Chris Paul.

“Like they really need him to want to be a little more dynamic, get in and out, get above the rim, be a vertical threat just to draw the defense, to ask questions so that Luka can do what he does and make the rest of that team better because they’re going to have problems defensively,” Nash added.

Pace-wise, Ayton can be a bit… deliberate. That’s ostensibly a good fit for the way Doncic likes to play, but he thrived in Dallas with some fast-breaking rim-runners in Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford.

More news: Lakers’ JJ Redick Provides Ominous Update on LeBron James Sciatica Injury

Nash also called out Los Angeles’ defense pretty much everywhere. Ayton has the potential to get there, at least.

“I think they just don’t have like elite defenders at this stage,” Nash continued. “They have positional size, but for them, it’s going to be so important for him to make sure that offense hums, make sure he’s diving, letting Luka be at his best. Otherwise, you know, that delta between offense and defense will become really problematic.”

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.