There's no drama in the NBA like big man drama.

Thursday's protagonist was Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton, who was the subject of a feature from ESPN's Dave McMenamin. The article is a lengthy breakdown of Ayton's somewhat uneven Lakers tenure, in which he has been asked to take a tertiary role at best on a star-heavy offense, but one section stood out in particular:

When he was finished speaking to [reporters], Ayton made his way back toward the showers and said what he really felt — loud enough for anyone still in the locker room to hear.

"They're trying to make me Clint Capela," Ayton said, referring to the Houston Rockets' now backup center, who a decade ago made his impact as a lob-catching, rim-running big on a team that made it to two conference finals.

"I'm not no Clint Capela!"

That quote was soon making the rounds on social media.

When something like that happens and you are the quote-giver in question, there are two things you should hope do not happen. You really need to have a good game the next time you take the court, and you'll want the person you sure seem to be disparaging to not take offense.

Ayton failed on both counts Thursday night.

The former saw him post only 2 points on 1-of-3 shooting with 4 rebounds in 23 minutes. The Lakers were outscored by 24 points while he was on the court in a 113-110 loss to a short-handed Phoenix Suns team, which he used to play for.

That is tied for Ayton's worst plus-minus of the season, and is easily the worst mark compared to how his team performed without him. The next-closest Lakers starter was Marcus Smart at minus-3, with LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves all sitting in the positive realm.

Meanwhile, Capela had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks in 7 minutes of a 113-108 Rockets win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday. 

He then had this to say on his Instagram story: "U got 2 of the best floor general in the game my dawg Lockinnn [two laughing emojis]."

Devastating.

It should be noted: Ayton might have a point about his offensive skill set being wasted in a Clint Capela role, but Capela in his prime was an order of magnitude better than Ayton in the areas of rebounding and defense. On the other hand, the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers spent seven years trying to figure out how to maximize that skill set in a way that actually helped their championship odds.

Ayton's career has been defined by talent that has perhaps not been wasted, but has certainly been unevenly applied. That's not exactly what you want from a player who was taken first overall by the Suns ahead of, among others, Dončić, Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young, Mikal Bridges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson. He performed well enough to reach an NBA Finals and get a max contract, but questions about his effort level have dogged him across three different teams.

Days like Thursday are not going to help that reputation.